Looks can be deceiving.
Sure, it looks like a set of high-end garages in an industrial park, but the tenants and owners at Warner Warehouse Garages at Aldersyde are turning into a close-knit business community.
Forever Bee Honey, which is owned by an Okotoks family, has been in one of the garages at Warner for about six months.
“We used to make everything out of our house,” said Forever Bee’s Maritza Pang. “I remember being in the basement and trying to do lip balms down there.
“Now we have a lot more storage, our house isn’t full of boxes and honey... I remember trying to make lip balm... This is a huge upgrade from the kitchen.”
Forever Bee is now making honey products at the 1,200 square-foot garage which it leases. And Forever Bee is also collaborating on a new product as a result of sharing the condominium style garage space.
"It is nice being connected to other businesses here as well,” said Lanice Chep of Forever Bee. “There is a distillery just down the way and he uses our honey to make his honey vinegar.”
Paul Poutanen of Tippa Distillery has been operating the smallest legal distillery in Alberta out of Warner for the past four years. He produces gin, rum, vinegar and others out of his leased garage.
He said he is now looking at delving into something dealing with coffee produced by Warner tenant Blackbird Cold Brew Coffee.
Tippa’s gin is sold in approximately 140 stores in Alberta.
At present there are 46 individual units at Warner Warehouse.
“We originally built these for the car guy, the mechanic guy, the RV guy, almost personal storage,” said Hayden Knorr of Warner Warehouse Garages. “Now it has evolved into this really small mecca of small businesses”.
Some of the other businesses include Porter’s Tonic Syrup and Il Forno Vagabondo— a well-known Okotoks travelling pizzeria — which uses the facility for storage and food prep.
There is no drop-in shopping— the garage units are for storage and production only.
There is no main access for the general public, as the garage-like condominiums are in a gated community for security reasons.
“It is not a storefront,” Knorr said. “But that does not mean the public is not wanted. We have parking outside the gates. If someone wants to pick up a box of gin, they call Paul, and he can give them the gin.”
Each of the businesses must have the proper permits and/or licences from Foothills County. Knorr said Warner has developed a strong relationship with the municipality.
