Proposed Court Street Brewpub Wins Zoning Nod In Doylestown Borough

DOYLESTOWN BOROUGH, PA — Ryan McKinney is coming home. And he’s bringing with him Artifact Brewing.

The Central Bucks West graduate and one of the principle owners of the Hatboro-based brewpub secured a variance Tuesday night from the Doylestown Borough Zoning Hearing Board to open up the brewpub’s second location at 19 West Court Street.

“I grew up here in Doylestown and graduated from Central Bucks West. I have a lot of fond memories of Doylestown and would love to be part of the borough,” he told the zoning board.

McKinney came before the zoning board seeking variance relief from the borough’s parking ordinance.

McKinney proposed to meet the parking requirement by providing three onsite parking spaces at the rear of the building and four off site parking spaces through an agreement with Marshall Trust, a neighboring property owner.

He produced a written agreement with Marshall Trust granting the pub permission to use the parking spaces after 5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 11 a.m. to one hour after closing on the weekend.

The zoning board granted the variance contingent upon McKinney securing public access to the rear of the site via the Doylestown Fire Company on Shewell Avenue.

McKinney will be leasing the former Wine and Spirits store space under a five year agreement with the owner.

“The space is ideal” for the second home of Artifact, he said, adding that it provides adequate room for a small tasting room and a production facility. “It’s also a fantastic location right downtown,” he said.

“We’re going to do what we did in Hatboro. We’re going to create a friendly atmosphere. People are encouraged to intermingle. We encourage families,” said McKinney. “This isn’t going to be a noisy bar. It’s not going to be college kids carrying on and being drunk outside the premises. That’s why we will be closing fairly early because we don’t want that crowd of people who have had too much.”

McKinney is planning to renovate the space with a brewpub, including a 1,000 square foot tasting room in front of the building, a 280 square foot bar and a 900 square foot brewing and storage operation at the rear of the building.

The vast majority of beer will be brewed on location, said McKinney, “although we will occasionally have a guest beer from another Pennsylvania brewery.”

The pub will provide pre-packaged snacks for its customers. Patrons can also bring their own food from nearby eateries and restaurants.

McKinney said they are hoping to open their doors in about six months. Hours of operation would be Thursday to Sunday to start with the possibility of adding Wednesday.

Artifact, located at 2 South York Road in Hatboro, opened its doors in October 2019. It is operated by McKinney and business partner Matt Brzowski.

Under their leadership and direction, the Hatboro pub has become a community gathering place. The owners also sponsor local sports and community causes, including providing food for the victims of a tornado that struck the community.

“Community is really important to us and we hope to do the same here in Doylestown,” said McKinney.