Intuition no longer hosting events in brewery

[viCARIous]

Thought MetroJax readers would be interested in the below statement about Intuition that we'll be releasing on FB later today.

It is with heavy heart that we announce that we are no longer able to host events of any size in our open-air brewery space.

After recently receiving a substantial fine for a noise violation and dealing with the stress of frequent visits by JSO, code enforcement and the Environmental Quality Division, all due to complaints made by our residential neighbor, we have made the extremely painful decision to permanently close the brewery area.

Since opening in November of 2010 the space has been used for community events to celebrate Oktoberfest, our anniversary, St. Patrick’s Day, the release of Underdark and many, many other festivities. We will miss welcoming the neighborhood to our little corner of King Street.

But perhaps the most heartbreaking outcome will be that we will no longer be able to host charitable events at Intuition. Over the past two and a half years, we have donated over $60,000 in beer and merchandise to nearly 100 local charities. Through our $1 per pint program, we have donated $20,000 in cash from beer sold during events. On top of all that, we always allow the host charity to use our space free of charge, a substantial in-kind donation.

EQUALITYFEST!, Slow Food First Coast Slow Down, Bold City Brigade, Movember, Community Connections Mardi Gras - we are sad that these events and many more will have to be celebrated elsewhere.

We want to assure our loyal supporters that we have made every attempt to rectify our zoning, parking and noise situations. Sadly, the obstacles to operating a unique, mixed-use business in our historic district have proved insurmountable at our King Street home. But on the bright side, our district councilman Warren Jones understands the challenges we have faced and supports us in moving to a new location where we will be able to operate our business to its fullest potential. For the time being we will refer any event requests to our neighbors and fellow small businesses, Bold City Brewery and CoRK. We thank them, along with Councilman Jones, for their hard work and dedication to improving the neighborhood, for businesses and residents alike.

We are a craft brewery with a focus on the local community, and we consider it a central part of our mission to be able to open our space as a venue for community and charitable events. We look forward to the day when we can welcome those events to our new home.

[Cheshire Cat]

Sad news but happy to know you are looking for an alternate location.   I hope all goes well for Intuition Ale.  I am sure it will all work out for the better.

[Tacachale]

Bad news all around. Hopefully the new digs will give Intuition the appreciation it deserves.

[Cheshire Cat]

My take on this is to view it as a positive.  Hopefully Intuition will now be able to find a location that will meet their needs and at the same time not put them in the cross hairs of neighbors or city inspectors.  I think good will come of this. 

[cline]

^In the long term, yes it could be a good thing.  But right now it is hard to view it as a positive.

[Cheshire Cat]

^In the long term, yes it could be a good thing.  But right now it is hard to view it as a positive.

I understand that sentiment and agree.  Right now it is a hardship to be sure, but the business is so well liked I know that good things are ahead for them.

[Josh]

Heard this as a rumor not too long ago; sorry to find out it's reality.

Clearly the King St area needs to bring back the crackwhores and drug dealers.

[Cheshire Cat]

My take on this is to view it as a positive.  Hopefully Intuition will now be able to find a location that will meet their needs and at the same time not put them in the cross hairs of neighbors or city inspectors.  I think good will come of this. 

I think its ridiculous, no one should have to be bullied and harrassed by a group of ideologues whose mistaken interpretation of the past is leading them to these kinds of shenanigans.

I think its time that Jim Love stepped down to be frank, because he is the district councilperson and he is enabling these kinds of shenanigans.

I certainly do not agree with any business being bullied.  My response to the situation is only geared to be supportive to Ben and Intuition Ale in the face of what they just announced.  I don't know the particulars of what Intuition may or may not have done to deal with the neighbors and inspectors. I just want Ben to know he still has great community support. 

[cline]

My take on this is to view it as a positive.  Hopefully Intuition will now be able to find a location that will meet their needs and at the same time not put them in the cross hairs of neighbors or city inspectors.  I think good will come of this. 

I think its ridiculous, no one should have to be bullied and harrassed by a group of ideologues whose mistaken interpretation of the past is leading them to these kinds of shenanigans.

I think its time that Jim Love stepped down to be frank, because he is the district councilperson and he is enabling these kinds of shenanigans.

I certainly do not agree with any business being bullied.  My response to the situation is only geared to be supportive to Ben and Intuition Ale in the face of what they just announced.  I don't know the particulars of what Intuition may or may not have done to deal with the neighbors and inspectors. I just want Ben to know he still has great community support. 

You'll get no argument from me on that.  I think it is a given that IAW has great community support and Ben and the whole IAW crew have reciprocated with great generosity. Hopefully when they move to a new location they can once again host these events.  Problem is that could take a while and in the meantime many of these great charities and events are the ones that are affected negatively.  And that is a loss for our community.  It is frustrating when a great home-grown community business is forced to do something like this because of one or two residents who are unwilling to compromise. 

[Captain Zissou]

There has been a wonderful atmosphere at intuition's king street facility ever since they opened. They embraced the community with open arms and, for the most part, the community embraced them back. I know they were reluctant to leave when they were starting to realize they needed more space. At one point they proposed maintaining two locations. This would have been difficult to manage and very costly, but they supported and loved the neighborhood so much that they were willing to try it. Now that the neighborhood has turned away from them, I hope that they are able to launch headlong into a new location with no regrets about what might have been on king street. They will grow to be much more than their old space can contain, so I am hopeful that their transition is quick and they will be laughing at this soon. I can't wait to drink the followup beer to Injuction.

[Dionna]

oh this pisses me off, because Riverside has become the progressive hot spot and the best part of Jacksonville the greedy ass powers in this city want to take it over, the city should be taking a page from what the locals have done in Riverside and finish what started in Springfield fix downtown and leave Riverside alone before they destory it like they have the rest of the city

[fsujax]

Lots of vacant warehouses in Springfield. Just saying!

[TPC]

Bummer. It sucks that someone who lives across the street from a warehouse and next to a rail line has to complain about noise and stifle the positivity that Intuition has created for the neighborhood.

[crackalacka]

I can somewhat understand the plight of homeowners in that area. If I lived in that close by, I would probably be annoyed by the prolonged noise at night, too. However, there's no reason that a compromise can't be worked out. Having business in that area helps the neighborhood. It's a shame they have to move. I hope they stay in Riverside!

[thelakelander]

Sounds like that area needs one of the old sawmills to open back up.  Then you'd have industrial machinery humming for hours.