Lewiston site could be new tourist destination

The former Twin City Foods site in downtown Lewiston may be turned into a tourist destination featuring a lemonade and water bottler, a hotel and a family fun center.

Asgard Capital Expansion has applied for a five-year conditional-use permit for Tsceminicum Bottling at 411 Fifth St., which, according to the application, is still owned by Twin City Foods.

A hearing on the matter is set for 5:30 p.m. Dec. 13 before the city of Lewiston's Planning and Zoning Commission at the Bell Building, 215 D St.

Tsceminicum Bottling Company is modeling itself after the Tillamook Cheese factory on the Oregon coast, according to the application. That tourist attraction draws more than one million visitors each year.

In Lewiston, an existing "historic" aircraft hangar would be transformed into a bottling plant, creating eight to 10 full-time jobs in its first year and another 10 within five years, according to the application, which contains no timelines for any of the proposals.

The facility would be open 20 hours a day, six days a week at its maximum capacity, according to the application.

"The automation equipment we are acquiring is designed for the 'tourism industry,' thus allowing our facility to become a destination where people take visual tours, become educated and be afforded miniature bottle samples of our products."

Tourists will be able to taste on-tap lemonades, mirroring how samples are available at the Tillamook Cheese factory, according to the application.

"This face-to-face customer experience is a crucial point our marketing strategy."

A retail shop where customers can purchase Tsceminicum products or those made by other local culinary artisans also is part of the concept. An exterior seating area will "have a coffee cart and offer an assortment of bagels, doughnuts, and pastries, along with cocoa, coffees and mochas."

An interpretive display will "communicate the importance of the rivers to the community, both historically, currently, and in the future," according to the application. "The display will also play an educational role in explaining the process the rivers and basalt formations play both in the purification and mineral enrichment of the water."

The Fifth Street location offers a number of benefits, according to the application. Its proximity to the levee overpass bridge potentially will draw pedestrians and bicyclists to the venture. Visitors could use a city of Lewiston parking lot that's being developed across the street if the bottling company's lot is full, according to the application.

The details regarding a hotel and family fun center are not shared in the application, which contains just a passing reference to those concepts.

"The bottling company will be an incredible attraction to the downtown Lewiston district and be complementary to the proposed family fun center and hotel, bringing additional attractions and revenue base to the region."

Who is behind the proposals is not clear. The application doesn't include names of people involved in Asgard Capital Expansion or Tsceminicum Bottling. Calls to telephone numbers listed on the application and to the city of Lewiston on Monday for additional information were not immediately returned.

What will happen to the Twin City Foods property has been a matter of speculation since 2004, when the last crop of peas was processed on the 11.5-acre site in the northwest corner of downtown Lewiston. Its closure eliminated 45 full-time jobs.

The facility, in excess of 150,000 square feet, was demolished in 2010, and the property has been on the market this year for an asking price of $3.7 million.

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Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.