Preservation & Co. founder has this new plan for old midtown space

Preservation & Co. owner Jason Poole plans to open a distillery and restaurant in his former retail space at 1717 19th St., according to a press release distributed Friday.

Poole and co-owner Dave Abrahamsen, a former Pour House and Blackbird manager who has worked at Preservation & Co. for the last year, applied for Preservation Spirits’ California Alcoholic Beverage Control license on Thursday. If successful, it would be the only legal distillery within Sacramento city limits.

Getting to that opening date, however, has stymied several would-be local distillers in the past. California Artisanal Distillers Guild executive director Cris Steller, who also owns Dry Diggings Distillery in El Dorado Hills, told The Sacramento Bee in December that he knew of at least six failed attempts to open distilleries in Sacramento. Some entrepreneurs had signed leases only to find out they would not be able to abide by regulations established to protect against stills’ potential to explode, Steller said.

Poole and Abrahamsen say they have spoken to Steller, police and City Councilman Steve Hansen about what it would take to open a midtown distillery. The concrete building they have is “borderline perfect for this kind of facility,” Poole said, with a few minor adjustments still needed.

Preservation Spirits plans to make most liquors on-site in a 400-gallon still, starting with gin and rice vodka, according to the release. Dark spirits such as whiskey and rum inherently take a couple years to mature.

Poole and Abrahamsen plan to serve Preservation & Co. products such as balsamic beet slices and hickory Brussels sprouts as well as hot dogs at Preservation Spirits. The wieners are a bit of a play on words: The building is across 19th Street from the Truitt Bark Park, and 5 percent of all hot dog sales will go toward Front Street Animal Shelter.

The restaurant will be open Thursday through Sunday from 3:30 to 10 p.m., plus Wednesdays for distillery club members, and closed the remaining two days for production. It will serve limited local beer and wine options, spokesman Patrick Harbison said, but the drink menu will largely highlight distilled spirits. No opening date has been set.

Preservation & Co. had been pickling vegetables, making jams and crafting pre-made cocktail mixes at 1717 19th St. before closing its retail side earlier this month ahead of a move to The Bank food hall, though production remains ongoing. Poole’s beer-soaked pickles were featured on national food website Delish last February.

This story was originally published January 25, 2019 at 2:21 PM.