Philomath residents soon to have option of local, handcrafted drinks

Philomath soon to be home for locally handcrafted drinks.

Nectar Creek, a meadery specializing in session style mead, is in talks with the city to move their existing Corvallis location to Philomath. 

Last week, commuters headed east into town by way of Hwy. 20 may have noticed the “Welcome to Philomath” log moved. The property, which has been vacant for years, is getting a facelift in preparation for Nectar Creek.

“The proposed Nectar Creek project is at the location that the log was previously located on the west end of town,” confirmed Ruth Post, city recorder.

On Sept. 22, co-founder Phillip Lorenz confirmed their interest in the plot.

“We are hoping to move there, and we’re hoping to have everything finalized about a month from now,” he said. “It’s been something we’ve been working towards for close to 12 months.”

Lorenz started Nectar Creek with his brother Nick in 2012. They plan to build the new facility to include all operations, production, and a tasting room. Customers will have the option to enjoy the product on premise or buy it to go. 

According to Lorenz, they feel Philomath is a good combination of both rural and urban areas that compliment their agriculture-based business. They also recognize future growth potential of the city, and their move from Corvallis will expand their staff and open up jobs to residents.

“We’re really excited to hopefully be part of the Philomath community,” he said. “If things go to plan we will break ground before the end of the year.”

Nectar Creek will discuss logistics of their move when negotiations are complete, hopefully next month. When that times comes, they will share details and renderings of proposed plans with the community.