Capital Taproom plans to open in September

Jon Shubin is hoping to bring a bit of Salem’s brewing past back into the present.

The Woodburn resident has signed a lease for the space that was formerly Sip Wine and Bistro at 150 High St. SE, next to the Historic Elsinore Theatre, and filed applications for two licenses with OLCC to open Capital Taproom.

One license allows businesses to sell beer, wine and cider by the glass. The other license allows businesses to sell bottled beer, wine and cider for off-premise consumption, said Christie Scott, public affairs specialist with OLCC.

“I’m planning on opening a taproom but we’ll also have bottle sales,” said Shubin. “The concept will be very similar to Barrel & Keg.”

Shubin, an avid home brewer who owned his own computer programming company, said there was actually a brewery in Salem in 1885 called Capital Brewery. “Our plan is to start out as a taproom and then expand into a microbrewery,” Shubin said. “What we’d like to do is tap into downtown Salem’s brewing history and bring it back to life,” he said.

Shubin said he envisions a community place where people can hang out and enjoy beer. “We plan on having couches, free Wi-Fi. We’re trying to be kind of a Starbucks for beer lovers.”

Shubin said he plans to open sometime in mid-September. His lease is contingent on the license approval from OLCC so he can’t begin work on the space until he obtains the licenses.

The space briefly housed Sip Wine and Bistro, which was opened in late 2014 by Shawn Kintner and then closed abruptly in May 2015. Kintner had relocated the business from the Woodburn Premium Outlets to downtown Salem.

Before then, the space was occupied by Twinsies, a business that focused primarily on cupcakes and other baked goods.