Aug 26, 2021 3 min read

A soon-to-open restaurant and boutique winery in South Strabane Township will now also be a distillery.

At their meeting Tuesday, township supervisors unanimously approved an amendment to the zoning ordinance allowing Armen’s Barrels, located at 10 McCoy Lane, to operate a distillery as a conditional use in the commercial district.

The restaurant is located at the same building that once house Wired roller rink.

Owner Armen Geronian appeared before the board for a public hearing on the matter, along with his attorney, Sarah Scott. The supervisors also approved Geronian’s conditional use application for the distillery after amending the zoning ordinance.

This is the second time the supervisors have changed the zoning code for Geronian’s business, as they amended it last year to allow him to operate the winery.

“Armen would use the same grape juice, same fermenting process, same barrels. The only addition that would be added would be a still, which is a piece of equipment, but otherwise the process of the boutique winery and the process of the distillery are almost one in the same, as if they were identical,” Scott said.

Residents, however, voiced their displeasure with the idea of someone operating a distillery in what is a mostly residential area and asked the supervisors to vote against the amendment.

Cynthia Rossi was one of the residents who testified at the hearing Tuesday. Among her issues with the proposal was that Geronian does not currently live in South Strabane.

“For three decades, I have observed applicants who are not township residents come before commissions and boards within South Strabane and seek in someway to modify or alter the zoning code to suit their wants and needs,” Rossi said. “These are not the solid residents who pick up litter alongside our roads, beautify parks and volunteer as firefighters.”

Rossi also pointed to language on the restaurant websites that suggests the distillery is already in operation.

The website states that Armen’s Barrels is “one of the few distilleries in the world that produce vodka from grapes. Using grapes gives our vodka a distinct taste and we went through several conditional and technological adjustments to make that taste very pleasant.”

“In my background of advertising and public relations, you don’t put something out there until it is, or else it’s called false advertising,” Rossi said, adding that she was concerned Geronian has been producing vodka without the permission of the township.

Solicitor Dennis Makel asked him to respond to the allegation.

Geronian insisted no vodka had been produced for public consumption, and said that he had already discussed the same issue with state police and the state Department of Agriculture.

“What happened is this: we have devices, not production devices … We have a little still machine. So we do tests. We do not produce anything for the public. For them, it was a good enough reason, because I would be breaking their laws as well if I would produce something for the public, but it’s my private place, and I’m to do there whatever I want. So I decided to do tests,” Geronian said.

Among the conditions the supervisors placed on Geronian’s distillery are no activity outside of the building, indoor events limited to a maximum of 50 people and no outdoor sound or music.