Today certainly feels like a full circle moment for the former Wurst space on the corner of 4th Street S.W. and 25th Avenue S.W. in Calgary's Mission neighbourhood. Earlier this afternoon, it was announced that the building has been taken over by new owners and would be transformed into a new restaurant and brewery concept.
At the hands of the folks behind Calgary's popular barbecue eateries Hayden Block and Comery Block, the gigantic two-level space will soon undergo extensive renovations to become part brewery and part–you guessed it–barbecue-themed restaurant. There's hardly any details surrounding this thus far, but one can assume this new establishment will be akin to a Hayden Block on steroids.
Judging by a design rendering shared on Comery Block's Instagram feed, it looks like fermentation tanks will be installed from the building's lower level (formerly the Bavarian beer hall section of Wurst) and peek up past the main floor on the front north side of the building. A second frame on the Instagram post is a job posting for a head brewer, meaning we're likely still months away from seeing this project come to full fruition.
In regards to this feeling full circle, Calgarians might recall that long before Wurst inhabited this sizable building in Mission, the WildWood Grill and Brewing Co. found plenty of success in the location until it closed in 2010. The once-popular concept was known for its duality, being a contemporary restaurant on the main floor and a casual brewpub on its lower floor.
As the saying goes, everything old is new again.
