Thousands of hectoliters of beer have been produced here over 130 years. Bought in 1986 by the giant Kronenbourg, the former Graff brewery will finally close its doors in 2003 in the Saint-Hélier district of Rennes. Abandoned, the factory has long stained the landscape, its old bottling hall and water tower serving as a bit of a wart in this district located close to the station. However, projects to preserve and rehabilitate this industrial heritage have not failed in the meantime. There was talk for a while of making it a cultural place, a coworking space or a business incubator. But all of these projects have stalled.
Finally, it will be necessary to wait until the end of 2019 for the old brewery to take shape. Owner of the premises, the local public company Citédia then imagines making it “a future place of transitions”. After a year and a half of work, the rehabilitation of the site is now coming to an end with an inaugural day scheduled for Wednesday (read framed).
The hall will accommodate up to 600 people
Open to the four winds, the old bottling hall has been closed and refurbished to make it an event space of 600 m². “We wanted to make it a place of reception for actors involved in the social, economic or ecological transitions of the territory”, underlines Florence Demay, director of events activity at Citédia.
In a seated configuration, the equipment will be able to accommodate conferences or seminars bringing together up to 600 people. “But the place wants to be open to the greatest number, to associations as well as to residents”, assures Florence Demay. General public events are already on the program with open stages and concerts to celebrate Georges Brassens’ birthday on October 24 or a festival of brasseries and micro-breweries in Brittany November 26 and 27.
A micro-brewery in the old brewery
To enlarge the old brewery, a wooden frame extension was also built so as to be able to accommodate three companies “committed to transitional issues” which will set up there from November 1st. A few days earlier, on October 17 precisely, a restaurant, called La Cantine, will take place in a space next to the hall.
Managed by the owners of the Haricot Rouge and the Quantic Café, the place will offer local cuisine. It will also honor the memory of the place since it will have a micro-brewery and will therefore produce its own beer. Manager of a kebab in the district, Mourad does not fear this new competition. On the contrary, he believes that the opening of this new-look Saint-Hélier brewery will help revitalize the neighborhood. “Apart from the residents, there is not too much traffic here so it can only be good for business,” he smiles.