Move over, wine. Beer’s about to make a splash in the Wenatchee Valley.

The first of four new watering holes where beer lovers can hoist a hand-crafted microbrew opened here April 16, just in time for Leavenworth’s annual Ale Fest. Two more breweries in Wenatchee and a beer tasting room in Cashmere have plans to open by summer.

“Beer’s taken a back seat to wine for too long,” said Chadd Fitzpatrick, co-owner of the planned Saddle Rock Pub & Brewery in downtown Wenatchee. “A main goal for us is to spotlight some of the great beers made around here — some traditional and some that carry the latest industry buzz.”

The local surge in microbrew venues should come as no surprise, said Entiat’s Alan Moen, managing editor of the Northwest Brewing News. “Craft breweries are growing at a phenomenal rate. I’ve been tracking this industry for over 20 years, and nothing else compares to what’s going on now.”

Here’s a quick look at what’s brewing:

• Icicle Brewing Co. began pouring April 16 at its just-completed downtown Leavenworth facility after more than two years of planning and a year of construction.

The first beers on tap came from some of the region’s top microbreweries, including Alpine Brewing Co. in Oroville and Iron Horse Brewery in Ellensburg. Icicle’s co-owner Pamela Brulotte said serving the “guest brews” gave head brewer Dean Priebe time to put the finishing touches on the company’s first product, which should be ready for sipping in eary May.

Details: Icicle Brewing Co., 935 Front St., Leavenworth. 548-BREW (2739).

• Columbia Valley Brewing, Wenatchee’s first commercial brewery, planned to begin making beer by the end of April and open for business around mid- to late May, said co-owner Joe Nestor. The 4,700-square-foot facility with pub-like ambitions will sport up to seven microbrews, an indoor tasting room, pool tables and an outdoor beer garden facing the Columbia River. The brewery is the first business along the newly redesigned-and-curbed Riverside Drive and is just a few quick strides from the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail.

Details: Columbia Valley Brewing, 538 Riverside Drive, Wenatchee. 264-0800.

• In mid-June, Devil’s Gulch Drinkery will open in Cashmere’s Mission District, which is quickly shaping up as one of the Wenatchee Valley’s prime food-and-beverage destinations. Owners Troy and Alicia Lindsey of East Wenatchee said their new microbrew tasting room will serve at least four Northwest craft beers, local wines and maybe locally made hard ciders and ginger beers. Possibilities on tap could include labels from Flyers Brewery in Oak Harbor and Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Ore. The Drinkery will join other tasting rooms, espresso stands, a distillery and restaurant in the district’s renovated warehouse.

Details: Devil’s Gulch Drinkery, 215 Mission Ave., Cashmere. 886-2838.

• By summer’s end, Wenatchee should have its second full-service brewery. Saddle Rock Pub & Brewery, located in the former Bison Bagel Bakery space on the lower level of the downtown’s Grand Central Building, plans to serve up a long list of Northwest microbrews. Owners Chadd Fitzpatrick and Jason Doten, both of Wenatchee, said they hope to have a minimum of 12 microbrews on tap, including their own small-batch craft brews made on-site.

Details: Saddle Rock Pub & Brewery, 25 N. Wenatchee Ave., Suite 107, in the Grand Central Building.

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Wenatchee

Special Olympics will stay put

The games are on.

Special Olympics of Washington gave a thumbs up April 21 to the Wenatchee Valley for the 2012 Winter Games and, most likely, for years to come.

The tentative approval caps three weeks of scrambling by local business and civic leaders to help fund the games’ rising costs and fill a $30,000 hole in operating expenses for alpine competitions.

Support of the new agreement between Wenatchee and Special Olympics came at the nonprofit’s monthly board meeting in Seattle. The group’s executive council is expected to give final approval to the memorandum of understanding on May 19.

At last month’s meeting, directors also halted plans to issue a bid proposal to find a new host city for the games.

The board’s nod to Wenatchee promises to continue the valley’s 21-year tradition of hosting the games and its 1,500 athletes who compete at various local venues, including Mission Ridge Ski & Board Resort, Town Toyota Center, Leavenworth Ski Hill and school gymnasiums in the area.

“We’re excited to have an agreement in principle with the Wenatchee community and are overwhelmed by the support and commitment shown towards the athletes,” said Special Olympics spokesman Dan Wartelle.

The document presented April 21 offered assurances that the Wenatchee Valley community would cover any extra operating expenses at area venues where athletes compete. In prior weeks, Eric Granstrom, marketing director of the Wenatchee Valley Sports Council, had gathered commitments for donations from area businesses and civic organizations.

“Basically, the document says that we as a community understand there’s a funding gap,” said Granstrom, “and that we’ll step in to fill that gap.”

The three-day March event brings thousands of visitors to the area, fills hotels, packs restaurants and generates an estimated $800,000 to $1 million in revenue for local businesses.

Possible loss of the games kicked local leaders into action, spurring them to organize a “Save the Winter Games” campaign and rethink their approach to hosting what’s become the region’s second-largest event.

Efforts to secure the games began in early April after Special Olympics officials balked at the possibility of paying for the use of local ski facilities for the games’ alpine competitions. For 20 years, Mission Ridge had donated free use of its facilities — ski runs, lift tickets and staff for grooming, parking and crowd control — for the estimated 450 athletes competing in alpine events, along with coaches and hundreds of family members.

But rising costs in recent years have pushed the Ridge’s overall donation past $80,000 for the three-day event, according to General Manager Mark Milliette. The Ridge was prepared to donate $50,000 and asked for help in covering the remaining expenses.

Last week, local tourism groups promised a $10,000 donation from the Tourism Promotion Assessment fund, which receives money from $1-per-day assessments on hotel room within the Wenatchee city limits.

“It can’t be emphasized enough how impressed the Special Olympics board was with Wenatchee’s community support of the Winter Games,” said Wartelle. “In all likelihood, you wouldn’t find that kind of overwhelming enthusiasm and caring for the event in any other community.”

Wartelle added, “This keeps our roots growing strong in Wenatchee.”

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East Wenatchee

Pangborn ready for new parking plan

Is parking a pain at Pangborn? Relief is on the way.

Beginning May 1, a better-designed parking system complete with numbered spaces, improved security and self-pay kiosks that accept credit cards could be in full operation at Pangborn Memorial Airport’s 300-car lot.

“We’re aiming to make parking more convenient for the traveler,” said airport director Greg Phillips. “This has been a long time coming.”

Seattle-based Republic Parking will run the new lot operation. Republic manages 350 parking facilities in 90 cities across North America, Latin America and Europe. The company has more than 70 airport contracts in the U.S. alone.

Republic was tops last fall in a bid-review process that drew interest from 16 firms, said the airport director.

Phillips said past parking concerns have included unclear signs about how and where to park, confusion over how and where to pay and security for cars left for a night or a week. For years, the facility has operated on an honor system that asked travelers to pre-pay using envelopes and drop boxes.

Republic will number and repaint parking space lines and, in some places, slightly reconfigure spaces to make finding a slot easier. They’ll install self-pay kiosks that accept cash, credit and debit cards. The kiosks will also be protected from the weather and located at the airport’s three entrances. Republic employees will patrol the lot and be available to answer questions.

Parking fees will not change. The first two hours are still free, said Phillips, and then $6 for a 24-hour period.

But travelers’ convenience is only part of the payoff with the new parking system, added Phillips. “It’ll also improve collections — make sure everyone has paid — and bring more revenue for the airport.” Estimated receipts will depend on the number of travelers and their length of stay.

The airport’s parking lot rarely fills up, even during busy holiday periods. “But it comes close,” said Phillips, “as more people decide to fly.”

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Wenatchee

Chelan PUD will give up fiber grant

The Chelan County PUD regretfully said “Thanks, but no thanks” to the feds and declined a $25 million grant to extend its fiber-optic network to the county’s unserved areas.

Citing revised buildout costs that exceed original estimates by $20 million to $34 million, PUD General Manager John Janney told commissioners April 11 that “the only viable option” was to decline the grant and discontinue a 2 percent electric rate increase to help fund the project.

Commissioners, who’d approved accepting the grant in August, were tipped late last week to the revised cost estimates and Janney’s decision. They unanimously agreed.

According to the vote, the PUD will keep what it’s collected so far of the 2 percent rate increase — almost $400,000 — to help cover $625,000 of its own money already spent on staff time to design portions of the grant-related network buildout.

Customers should see the reduction on their bills starting in May, Janney said.

The board’s August decision to accept the grant followed a phone survey that revealed that a majority of the PUD customers questioned would be willing to pay up to 3 percent more on their power bills if the utility took the grant and finished the network.

The optimism of the moment began to fade within weeks as Janney learned that initial buildout cost calculations were inaccurate, and only 70 percent of county homes and businesses already had access to fiber. Earlier estimates said 85 percent of the county was served.

In February Janney fired Joe Jarvis and John Smith, his two top fiber managers, over squishy costs. He then assembled a team of engineers and accountants to do a full cost re-analysis of network.

Their findings included:

Original estimates didn’t adequately include $5 million to $10 million in added costs to strengthen or replace power poles to meet federal requirements for carrying the extra fiber cable.

The full buildout, including upgrading the poles, would take longer than three to five years. The PUD runs the risk of defaulting on contract requirements that oblige the work to be done in three years.

Costs and timelines to build to the more remote or more costly areas were underestimated.

Permitting, easements, design work and unknown factors would also stress the schedule. The three-year buildout “clock” started ticking in September.

Revised buildout costs would be $53 million to $67 million — as much as $34 million more than the $33.3 million originally budgeted, including the grant.

The team considered cutting costs by eliminating the most difficult, high cost areas, but learned that federal officials would not approve the change.

Many PUD customers continue to clamor for fiber and cheered last year when commissioners initially agreed to accept the grant.

April’s vote meant that more than 6,800 homes and businesses that don’t already have access to fiber will have to wait longer — probably much longer.

Customers who don’t have fiber to their homes, but whose neighborhoods have access to the network, can still connect by paying their own costs.

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Wenatchee

Bella Bistro pumping high octane

A downtown Wenatchee gas station has gotten a second life at refueling residents.

Bella Bistro, a new coffeeshop, began selling espresso, pastries and smoothies April 22 from an upscale renovation of a former gas station and automotive repair shop at 317 Orondo Ave., right across the street from Memorial Park. It opened just in time for Apple Blossom Festival.

Two Wenatchee couples — Jamie and Flint Hartwig and Aubree Reeves and Gene Bennett — worked to ready the shop, which features outdoor seating under an expansive front portico (where the pumps were located), indoor service for when the weather turns chilly and, of course, a drive-through window.

The entire building and surrounding lot were spruced-up, said Flint, a local contractor. The shop itself got insulation, sheetrock, new paint and lights and lots of commercial kitchen equipment.

But Flint said the real brains behind the operation are Jamie and Aubree, who hired and trained staff, chose menu items, and will make sandwiches, brew coffee and blend smoothies. Jamie, 31, is the bookkeeper and behind-the-scenes person. Aubree, 25, has several years of barista service and will be out front, greeting customers, running the espresso machine and serving up food.

Did someone say food? Bella Bistro’s menu includes sandwiches, paninis, soups, salads and smoothies made from real fruit. The shop features beans from Apple Hills Coffee Roasters, now operating from a new facility in Rock Island.

Inside, the bistro also features a butterfly mural of special significance. Gail Hartwig, the mother of Flint and Aubree, died in February. Before she passed away, Gail dreamed of a butterfly emerging from a cocoon and told Aubree all about it. Later, butterfly-themed flower arrangements and references appeared — unprompted — at Gail’s funeral service.

“The mural will be a reminder of Gail,” said Aubree. “When we talked with her the very last time, she said we should open the shop. She encouraged us to do this.”

Details: Bella Bistro, 317 Orondo Ave., Wenatchee. Hours: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday (with possibility of Sunday hours).

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East Wenatchee

Town Ford moves into new home

Now even the muscle cars have room to flex.

With construction completed, Town Ford Lincoln crossed the river to its new East Wenatchee home — a $5 million, 28,000-square-foot dealership that combines sales, service, express lube and tire shop under one roof.

“Glad to be here,” said General Manager Pat Armstrong. “This is a big step for us. We needed the extra space, and — oh boy — we love it here.”

The Ford (and Lincoln) dealership moved from its longtime home — at 1001 Miller St. in Wenatchee — and opened in the new, shiny, glass and chrome space April 4.

Amenities include a bigger sales lot, bigger show room, bigger service department, more office space, two story atrium and lots of natural light. The new location is also right next door to its sister dealership, Town Toyota.

Plus, the old Town Ford location might not stay empty for long. Town plans to renovate the building and move its Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge dealership into the space sometime this year.

Details: Town Ford Lincoln, 700 3rd St. SE, East Wenatchee. Phone: 663-2111. Web: yourtownford.com.