Timberline brewery finds footing in Wenatchee after opening

WENATCHEE — Inside a Port-owned building at the corner of Orondo Avenue and Columbia Street, Timberline Craft Kitchen & Brewery is settling into Wenatchee the way many small businesses do, one season and one customer at a time.

Owner Eric Peterson updated Chelan-Douglas Regional Port Authority commissioners on April 28, offering a candid look at the first months of operating the brewery’s second location.

The Wenatchee site, an expansion of Timberline’s original Leavenworth business, Blewett Brewing, opened later than planned after an extensive renovation handled largely by a three-person crew.

“We thought every time we picked at this building, we could do more,” Peterson said. “Eventually, we had to stop spending money and just open the doors.”

Opening in the fall meant heading straight into the slower winter season. Then came an unexpected setback. About six weeks after launching in Wenatchee, flooding impacted the Leavenworth location, disrupting revenue and shifting financial pressure onto the new operation.

“This business was financing that business,” Peterson said.

Even with those challenges, Peterson said the first year has met expectations. Rather than chasing rapid growth, the focus has been on learning how the Wenatchee location fits into the flow of the city, particularly along the Columbia Street corridor near Pybus Public Market.

“We’re kind of students of our business right now,” he said. “Just listening to customers, figuring out what works.”

That learning process includes understanding how events drive traffic. Timberline has leaned into community involvement early, participating in Apple Blossom activities, sponsoring Tour de Bloom and hosting beer gardens during events like Rails and Ales. Those moments can bring a surge of customers, followed by quieter days that require careful pacing.

“You’ll sell 300 pizzas one day, and the next day you’ll sell 25,” Peterson said.

The Port’s role in the project helped make the expansion possible. The agency owns the building and completed major upgrades before Timberline moved in, including roof repairs and HVAC installation, part of a broader effort to activate the area with new businesses.

For Peterson, the approach remains long-term. Plans for the space include additional signage, a redesigned entryway and continued improvements to the exterior as the business stabilizes.

“We’re not here for the short term,” he said. “It takes time to train customers who you are, where you are and what you offer.”

As development continues around the Columbia Street and Pybus area, Timberline is growing alongside it, building its place in the neighborhood one visit at a time.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media