Rickoli brewing up big plans

Brewing Rickoli has a plan to expand operations.

“Now, we just have to execute it,” long-time brewer and owner Rick Abitbol said.

Abitbol, who has been brewing and serving beer in a cozy location on 44th Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard, is dreaming of adding a new tap room –; fit to serve, brew and bottle beer. And he’s already got a location in mind.

The old U-Pump-It building on 38th and Kipling is ripe for renovation, he said. “The structure it sound. I had an architect look at it and he said ‘Wow, we could build off of this.”

Abitbol and his wifeJaqua have been running Brewing Rickoli on their own for the last 3 1/2 years. They are looking to grassroots fundraising and bank-loan applications to make a down payment for the lot on 38th Avenue. They have started a GoFundMe campaign for $ 65,000 which is slowly accruing donations, and are waiting to hear back on a bank loan.

With looming construction on Wadsworth Boulevard, “our future here is kind of uncertain,” Abitbol said. A brewer-turned-businessman, he realized his rent could easily skyrocket next to new tenants and redevelopment.

“So I started thinking –; and I’m dangerous when I start thinking,” he said.

That’s when he found the U-Pump-It lot, what he calls the “last eyesore” in a growing neighborhood. The building has the space and structure for a new tap room and brewery. “We envision a rooftop patio,” Abitbol said. “You’ll be able to sit there and enjoy the Front Range.”

No change is expected any time soon. The landlord of Rickoli’s current location has offered an extended lease for at least 18 months to save up some money while continuing to sell brews. Abitbol is negotiating for more time.

“Ideally, we will continue doing business here,” Abitbol said, “and start construction on the new place, shine it up and make it a really nice brewery.”

Small brewery with a national niche

You might have noticed Rickoli’s first step to expansion, if you’ve seen Rickoli labels in local liquor stores and bars such as JK Liquors or Iron Rail Tavern tap room. Now available in more than 30 separate locations, Brewing Rickoli is continuing to expand statewide distribution with a goal of national sales.

“We’ve got the potential to be able to distribute nationally, because we’re filling a niche that isn’t being filled yet,” Abitbol said.

That niche comes in the form of gluten-removed beer. Different than gluten free, gluten-removed beer is brewed with the same glutenous recipe, but the gluten is removed in the final stages of the brew process.

“We use a simple enzyme that busts the gluten apart inside the beer,” Abitbol explained. “This way, the flavor doesn’t change.” It tastes the same, but people with gluten sensitivities can drink it, too.

Although some larger brands like New Belgium have released gluten-removed beers, Rickoli Brewing has one of the widest selection of such beer in the market right now.

Abitbol started brewing in 1998. His contacts in the industry are the back-up plan.

“Even if we can’t expand, I have plans in place to be able to contract brew,” he said. That would mean using another brewery’s facility to brew its recipes. That way the brewing operation can continue to grow while work towards a physical expansion is underway.

“Because I’ve been brewing so long, I know a lot of brewers,” Abitbol said. “I have pretty good means to be able to use someone else’s horse power to help brew our brand.”

Regardless of whether they can raise the capital for a downpayment, Abitbol and his wife are prepared to start saving while they increase distribution and gross income to eventually open up a new location.

“When the time is right,” Abitbol said, “it will happen.”

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