SLO County distillery swaps ‘funky little spot’ for new, larger space. See inside

A SLO County small-batch distillery has outgrown its tiny location and moved to a larger spot, carrying its spirits, craft cocktails and hearty grub with it.

Central Coast Distillery operated on Traffic Way in Atascadero before it recently moved into its expanded space in the new Del Rio Marketplace. The distillery held its grand opening in the space on June 27.

Founded in 2017 by husband-and-wife duo Eric and Anna Olson, the distillery was first in a “funky little place” off Traffic Way with a six-seat bar where it would often go over the person limit for the building.

“I remember at one point we’re in there, and it looked like a rave party because it’s just full of people standing,” Eric Olson told The Tribune. “It was just packed with people. It just got so busy, and then we had the opportunity to come over here.”

Central Coast Distillery reopened at the Del Rio Marketplace at 1875 El Camino Real in Suite A, distilling its spirits right on site, creating craft cocktails, hearty meals and small bites and a cigar license.

How did small-batch distillery get its start in SLO County?

The Olsons have been in the hospitality business for over 30 years, working with hotels all over southern California and the Central Coast. Their last venture before opening their distillery was a food truck with Centrally Grown in Cambria, where Eric worked as a chef and began experimenting with distilling.

“That’s when we said enough of doing it, of doing the business with other folks,” Anna Olson told The Tribune. “We wanted to do something for ourselves, so we could spend more time with our children, and that’s how it all started.”

The distillery’s brand is called Forager Spirits, a nod to the Olson’s ancestry — Eric’s great-grandfather was one of the first pharmacists in Eureka, California, and passed down the art of foraging and farm-to-table processes used in Eric’s recipes now.

“Everybody thinks weeds are just something growing out in the woods,” Eric Olson said. “Each one has a component for something. We started harvesting these agaves and making mezcals and tequila-like products, and that’s how we got into that.”

The Olsons have helped kickstart over 10 distilleries in San Luis Obispo County and currently support approximately 60 bars and restaurants by supplying their spirits.

The distillery follows a small batch process of making only 36 to 60 bottles of a product, compared to large production efforts. Anna Olson compares the difference of processes to making different chocolate chip cookies.

“The craft is really more important than just the making of the product,” Anna Olson said. “It’s like making homemade cookies versus making cookies on a production line. You have a better chance of getting all the quality of products.”

The couple have built more than a distillery the past eight years — during the pandemic, they sold their craft cocktails to go, created a hand sanitizer, featured on local podcasts and hosted the National Honey Board for distilling alcohol out of honey.

What’s on the menu at Central Coast Distillery?

Central Coast Distillery distills bourbon whiskey, two types of gin, rum, vodka distilled from raw honey, zinfandel, brandy and agave in a special clay bottle. The bottles are featured on display at the distillery’s bar and cocktail menu, with twists on margaritas, an old-fashioned, Manhattan and cosmopolitan.

Olives are hand-stuffed with blue cheese and are used in the bar’s martinis. For grub, the spot has a popular ahi and wasabi poke, coastal tide linguine, pasta pasolivo and a smashburger. Tacos are $3 on Wednesdays, and a prime rib goes for $38 on Friday nights.

“People always ask me, ‘Hey, you’re a chef, what do you like to cook?’ I always say, ‘Doesn’t really matter what I like, it’s what they like. You’ve got to cook for the people, not for the chef,’ ” Eric Olson said. “That’s our whole concept here, is to make comfort food, make tasty food and not overcharge people for it.”

Central Coast Distillery also has its cigar license, which means visitors can purchase a cigar from its drawer of options and smoke it outside on the spot’s outdoor patio near an electric fireplace.

The Olsons also plan to place a racing boat called the Whiskey Runner outside of the building and light it up as a set piece of the distillery.

“We’re trying to figure out what event we are going to show with that,” Eric Olson said. “Is it going to be a seafood night, is it going to be a dance? We really feel that we’re a hub for experience.”

For more information

Central Coast Distillery at 1875 El Camino Real in Atascadero is open Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m., Friday from 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 3 to 7:30 p.m.

For more information about the distillery, visit its website at centralcoastdistillery.net.