Three years ago, when Jim Jeffryes scraped away the grease, yanked up the carpet and started over at an old steakhouse as famous for the giant fiberglass cow outside as it was for anything served on a plate, he embarked on a project to transform the building into a microbrewery.

Now, as he prepares to secure a building permit for his second brewery in Grand Junction, the businessman will blaze new culinary ground in an area historically dominated by heavy industry.

Edgewater Brewery Restaurant, though, will represent more than perhaps the first development planted alongside Riverside Parkway. It could help the Grand Valley strengthen its foothold in the microbrewery market and bolster its reputation as more than a haven for wine aficionados.

“We’re a big enough town that we can support several breweries,” Jeffryes said. “The Western Slope has tended to be a little isolated and a little conservative on this side of the mountain, so that tends to mean a lot of people like their big three mainstream beers. What that means for me is opportunity.”

The valley was without a commercial microbrewery until the Rockslide Brew Pub opened in downtown Grand Junction in the mid-1990s. Should Edgewater Brewery brew its first batch next year, as planned, it would be the third brewery to open here in the past six years.

Local beer brewers say there’s ample opportunity to expand.

“The area is continuing to grow, and that’s good for all of us,” said Mike Bell, co-owner and general manager of the Rockslide, which has bumped its annual production from 700 barrels when it first opened to more than 1,000 barrels today. “I certainly think there’s always opportunities for good concepts, whether they’re breweries or brew pubs or restaurants.”

Jeffryes had envisioned building a brewery since his family purchased 3 1/2 acres at 905 Struthers Ave. in 1999. He obtained a conditional-use permit in 2001, but his plans detoured when the city selected an alignment for the parkway that affected access to his property.

Jeffryes then stumbled upon the former Prime Cut restaurant on 12th Street across from Community Hospital. He and his business partner, Eric Ross, leased and renovated the building and opened Kannah Creek Brewing Co. in 2005.

The brewery lost money the first year it was open, and by the end of 2006, Jeffryes and Ross were down to their last $10,000. The tide turned soon after, though, and Kannah Creek began making a profit. Now approaching its third anniversary, the brewery has boosted its beer production from 500 barrels in the first year to 750 barrels now — just short of its 800-barrel capacity.

“The magic number is five,” Jeffryes said. “If you can stay in business for five years, you’re doing something right.”

Business is going well enough that Jeffryes is revisiting his property in south downtown. He obtained a conditional-use permit last month for a 12,000-square-foot brew pub that can host banquets and wedding receptions on its second floor. He could break ground in October and open Edgewater Brewery in fall 2009.

The groundbreaking would come two months after the city opens the parkway, a nearly seven-mile bypass that officials hope will inject new life into and spark redevelopment of south downtown. The brewery will be between the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens and Las Colonias Park, a 100-acre yet-to-be-developed tract.

Jeffryes envisions capitalizing on his proximity to both the new road and the Colorado River, drawing customers motoring along the parkway or recreating along the riverfront and looking for a beer and a sandwich.

“I just hope that south downtown gets going,” he said. “I’m worried about being the first retail establishment down there. (But) I think if I do it right, people will be curious.”

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E-mail Mike Wiggins at mike.wiggins@gjsentinel.com.

Grand Valley breweries
Rockslide Brew Pub
• Opened: 1994
• Number of regularly brewed beers: 6
Barrels brewed annually: 1,000
Palisade Brewery
• Opened: 2003
• Number of regularly brewed beers: 4
• Barrels brewed annually: 3,000
Kannah Creek Brewing Co.
• Opened: 2005
• Number of regularly brewed beers: nine
• Barrels brewed annually: 750