Elijah Brumback

Buellton-based craft brewer Figueroa Mountain is headed across the pond with plans for a brewery and taproom in Germany.

Brewbound, a source for all things beer related, dropped the news Oct. 30 that Figueroa is headed to the Bavaria region of the country and plans to start contract brewing there within six months while it looks for possible build sites.

“We’ll start off as a small regional brewery and can grow from there and test the market,” brewery president Jaime Dietenhofer told Brewbound. “Maybe that’s more tied into a 15-barrel system with multiple fermenters, just like we started over here, and if we need to add capacity we will.”

The moves comes as the 10th largest craft brewer in the United States, Escondido-based Stone Brewing, is planning its own $25 million facility in Berlin.

Brewbound reports that Figueroa plans to finance its project with inside capital and potential international partners, though the company’s ambitions are much more humble than Stone’s.

“One of the things we’re really happy about, we wanted to be this kind of university for our brewers and staff,” Dietenhofer told Brewbound. “We can send them overseas and vice versa, bring staff from Germany to us and kind of cross-pollinate.”

The Business Times recently reported that Figueroa was moving all of its 20,000 barrel per year distribution operations  to Jordano’s Pacific Beverage Co. Earlier this year, Figueroa told the Business Times that it’s opening several new locations throughout the Central Coast and South Coast regions.

The brewer is investing almost $6 million for three new taprooms in Santa Maria, Arroyo Grande and Westlake Village. Both the Arroyo Grande and Westlake Village locations will produce up to 1,500 barrels annually. The Santa Maria taproom is expected to open Nov. 22. A San Luis Obispo location is also in the works for the new Public Market under development there as well.

Figueroa has partnered with Milano Restaurant Group to help finance the Arroyo Grande and Westlake Village projects, and the company also expects to have its offerings available in the Central Valley and San Francisco Bay Area by 2016, according to Brewbound.

Corepower Yoga Expands
Brandon Cox and Cara Ferrick opened the first CorePower Yoga in Santa Barbara roughly 16 months ago. Now they are opening their second location in Goleta on Nov. 7.

Cox and Ferrick are banking on economic growth in Goleta, along with the studio’s new Camino Real Shopping Center address, to attract a key college student demographic in a market they believe is  undeserved, according to a company release.

The business is sparing no expense either, as renovations to the new location were in the range of $750,000.

“The location in Goleta is critical because of the proximity to UCSB, the vibrant business community and Goleta’s family neighborhoods,” Cox said in a release. “We will have the same classes and full service of amenities our customers are already used to, including large locker rooms, multiple showers and dry/wet vanity areas. Our Goleta customers will be able to exercise in a convenient environment and quickly get back to their commitments.”

The company offers over 100 classes a week, including a blend of heated and non-heated yoga classes, yoga that incorporates hand-held weights, yoga teacher trainings and boot camps. In addition to the new Goleta studio, Cox and Ferrick plan to open CorePower-Westlake in February 2015 and are actively scouting locations in San Luis Obispo and Ventura.

Apartment complex financed
CBRE Capital Markets Debt & Structured Finance recently secured a $30.6 million construction loan for Island View Apartments, a 154-unit apartment development in Ventura, according to a Nov. 3 release.

Sharon Kline and Marina Massari of CBRE’s Newport Beach office worked on behalf of developer John Ashkar and his Ventura Heritage Corp. to secure the three-year loan, with two 12-month extension options. The loan was provided by U.S. Bank.

Construction on the complex, which is just off of Victoria Avenue in Ventura’s Montalvo neighborhood, is expected to start in the next 30 days. Island View Apartments will feature Mediterranean-style architecture and include a number of community amenities. Residents will have access to three courtyards, including one elevated courtyard with seating areas and fire pits.

The complex will also have two rooftop decks with barbeque areas and views of the Pacific Ocean. Other amenities include a full gym, coffee bar, lounge, conference room, yoga studio, billiards and sports room, dog park, pool and spa.

• Contact Elijah Brumback at ebrumback@pacbiztimes.com.