Beermann's owner hopes to brew real estate deal

A year after the closure of its namesake restaurant, the Beermann's building in Downtown Lincoln remains - for all intents and purposes - empty, despite being one of the city's most-recognizable piec-es of real estate.Steve Art, the city's economic development manager said some entities had ex-pressed interest in acquiring the property at 645 Fifth St., but no serious offers had been made."We've had a few nibbles on the year," he said, adding "The city would like to maintain it as a restaurant. We think that's a big draw to Downtown. It's one of the most beautiful buildings in Downtown, in both the interior and the exterior."Owner David Rosenaur couldn't agree more. He said he's invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to make the building the landmark it is today. But a move to Southern California forced him to shutter the restaurant, along with the Horseshoe Bar and Grill in Loomis, following the restaurant's big New Year's bash."The closing down part was something we had to do because we moved away," he said. "We actually thought that we could find somebody to run it in our absence, but we could never find someone to run the place the way we liked."The (building) is absolutely gorgeous," Rosenaur added. "I want to sell it. We're willing to do what needs to be done to make it happen for the right buyer. I understand that the city was willing to do (something) too to help."Art confirmed that assertion in an interview last week."Yes, there are a number of options," he said.Karen Fox of the Fox Group, the real estate agency handling the sale of the building, said the building is available for $4.775 million."(That number) includes all the furnishings, the liquor license, the brewing equipment, the kitchen equipment, the antiques and the artwork," said Fox, who also happens to be Rosenaur's fiancée. "(Rosenaur) just reduced it by $200,000. And liquor licenses in Placer County are hard to get."Currently, the building is leased to the Bayside Church of Lincoln, which uses it for Sunday services.Both Rosenaur and Fox said the building's generated a lot of interest among potential buyers, but no one has been able to deliver the combination of cash an restaurant expertise the couple are looking for."We have a vested interest (in it remaining a restaurant) because we busted our fannies to put that thing in and make it a restaurant," Rosenaur said. "We've got a fortune in the building, and I think, with the right buyer in there, the restaurant would make money."(But) if you don't know how to run the restaurant, you don't want it," he added. For reasons of its own, the city also helps the building reopens as a restaurant."We think (it can be) a big draw to Downtown," Art said. "(And) I think Beermann's loss has been a big impact."Obviously, we would like to see it maintained as a restaurant," he added, while admitting there has been at least one proposal to convert at least part of the building into office space. "We always like to have first floor being retail as much as possible." Meanwhile, Beermann's beers continue to roll out of Rosenaur's production brewery in Roseville. The facility, at 8284 Industrial Ave., sells brews through distributors to grocery stores and restaurants throughout the region, according to brewer Tim Spinelli.