The Sunshine Building, vacant for about thirty years, is in the limelight once again. The Sunshine building was originally built in 1929 and closed down in the 1980s due to a nearby street being dead-ended. The building became overgrown with weeds and trees and the windows were broken in and boarded up. The building was completely destroyed and even had a boat hanging from the trusses.
Ben Seller, Jonathan Dodson, and David Wanzer partners of Pivot Project saw potential in the building. These three men are known for their transformation of the Tower Theatre and wanted to see the same transformation in the Sunshine Building. They reached out to the former owner and after a long deliberation they came to an agreement. The former owner had an attachment to the historic building and had a hard time letting go. Luckily, he saw the potential in the building and thought the conversion would bring life back into it.
Joel Irby, family friend of Jonathan Dodson, was living in Boulder, Colorado at the time. Irby had been working in the brewery industry and worked on refining his own skills in the brewing process. Jonathan Dodson found himself at the same bar as Joel Irby and they began a conversation that would turn into the transformation of the Sunshine Building. Dodson told Irby that he should bring his brewing skills back to Oklahoma. After many trips to Colorado, Irby decided to come back to OKC and begin Stonecloud Brewing Company.
The new and improved Sunshine Building is now home to Stonecloud Brewing Company, featuring a taproom, brewery, and dining space. The building also includes office space for the Pivot Project team. Stonecloud Brewing Co. offers an intimate environment in the taproom with dining space and a bar. The dining area has views of the spacious brewery, where diners can watch the magic happen. The bar even features a belgian wit called, “Neon Sunshine,” in honor of the Sunshine Building.
“Stonecloud was an inspiration brought on by the mountains of Colorado. During the 14 years that Joel lived in Colorado he spent hundreds of days climbing in the mountains. Every once in a while he would come across one of those great endless views, composed of layer upon layer of mountains, which eventually dissolved into the clouds on the horizon. These stone clouds gave us our name and continue to inspire our sense of adventure and quest for new beer experiences.”
Written by Samantha Ackerman
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