Joliet Won't Let Street Repairs Kill MyGrain Brewing Co.

JOLIET, IL — In September, MyGrain Brewing Company celebrated its two-year anniversary in downtown Joliet, converting the once-vacant Union Station's main floor into a classy microbrewery with great food selections. But MyGrain realized it had a disaster on its hands. Construction. Lots of construction. Construction nightmares.

Three different public infrastructure projects are happening or about to start right on the perimeter of the MyGrain Brewing. Lots of orange road construction barrels, plus portable toilets line the sidewalks near MyGrain Brewing. For the past few months, major street repairs are taking place along a several block stretch of downtown's Jefferson Street.

On Tuesday night, the Joliet City Council in a unanimous vote, followed the recommendation of interim city manager Steve Jones to grant MyGrain Brewing free rent for one full year. The city's decision is intended to help the business survive the enormous pains of street construction that are already underway and will only get worse once 2020 starts.

The city council memo indicates MyGrain won't pay the city any rent between September 2019 through August 2020.

"The one-year reduction in rent is to provide relief to the business owner for upcoming city construction projects that will interfere with the business's operations and accessibility," Jones wrote the council.

According to Jones, two city of Joliet construction projects will begin simultaneously in 2020:

The Chicago Street re-connection project will mean the permanent removal of the parking spaces adjacent to the current Will County Courthouse as those will become part of the new portion of Chicago Street.

The other big project is the construction of a new downtown Joliet bus station. The bus depot will go directly south of the historic Union Station building. Construction begins in the spring and will last into the fall.

"During construction of the new bus station, the passageway under the viaduct will be closed off thereby limiting access to MyGrain from the southern parking lot," Jones informed the council.

Jones pointed out that MyGrain has already made at least $2.5 million in improvements inside Union Station since it decided to open Joliet's first microbrewery in the city-owned property, a few years ago.

Now, it is time for Joliet to help the business out, Jones explained.

"MyGrain has made significant investment in downtown Joliet and a city-owned building," Jones wrote. "The changes to the lease are intended to provide relief for external factors that are beyond the business's control."

MyGrain Brewing stays open on Wednesday-Sunday. The microbrewery also sells several of its award-winning craft beers at dozens of liquor stores and bars throughout the region. The brewery and restaurant has also been accepting reservations from businesses and groups for holiday parties.