Firestone and Robertson Distilling Co. has outgrown its 901 West Vickery home in just four years, prompting the whiskey brewery to expand. Leonard Firestone and Troy Robertson, founders and owners, have their sights set on the historic Glen Garden Golf and Country Club property, hoping to create a farm-like, experiential space for tours, tastings and distilling.
Firestone and Robertson spent a year looking for the right property to expand onto before finding the Glen Garden property.
"There is a real scenic value," Firestone said. "There is a beautiful lake and view of downtown. It's great for business operations and perfect for the type of events we are interested in hosting."
The property is currently under contract and working its way through the city's rezoning process. With a goal to close this summer, the owners hope Glen Garden would join West Vickery as an operational site within 18 months.
With greens dating to 1912, Glen Garden has had a significant impact on the world's golf community as well as Fort Worth's. World Golf Hall of Fame members Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson even got their start caddying on Glen Garden greens. Though his professional career took him to courses all over the world, Nelson maintained that the course's back nine was the most unique golf layout in the world.
Glen Garden declined to comment on the sell.
Firestone and Robertson have a genuine respect for the course's history and a deep love for Fort Worth. They plan on preserving tradition by displaying memorabilia and trophies and, possibly, preserving a few holes. Firestone and Robertson hope to become as emblematic of Fort Worth as Glen Gardens is.
The duo founded the distillery in 2010 after discovering a mutual love for old-fashioned craftsmanship and a passion for whiskey.
"Priority No. 1 was to stay local," Firestone said. "Every bottle we produce, we are required to print where we operate from. We felt it was absolutely necessary to have Fort Worth, Texas on the label."
The Fort Worth zoning commissioners issued a tie vote in June in the proposed conversion of the country club into a distillery. The case goes to the city council on July 15.
