Five months to the day after pouring its last beverage in Ogden, wine and beer shop Fermental quietly opened its doors at its new Cargo District location last Thursday.
 
“We didn’t want to announce it; we wanted to make sure everything was ready,” said Steve Gibbs, who owns the shop with his wife, Kristen.
 
Despite the low-key start, quite a few familiar faces, as well as new ones, have already showed up at Fermental’s new home at 600 S. 17th St.
 
“There have been a lot of Ogden customers," Gibbs said. "It was a busy weekend.”
 
Fermental launched in 2012 at 7250 Market St. In 2020, however, the Gibbses learned that the property – the site of several other small businesses in addition to the wine and beer shop – was for sale. By mid-2021 the property was under contract with Charlotte-based Durban Development, which plans to raze the buildings and construct a Take 5 Oil Change shop.
 
Finding nothing suitable for their business in the Ogden area, the couple looked downtown and found a property that had formerly housed a service station and auto repair shop. Over these past few months, the Gibbses have moved equipment, navigated the permitting process and overseen the building's renovation.
 
Fermental’s business model is the same now as it was in Ogden, Gibbs said, but it takes time to settle into a new space and a new environment. A more spacious indoors boasts about 25 seats, along with couches and a standing bar. The owners have also created a “fairly large” beer garden behind the building, which has come as a surprise to some patrons because it's not visible from the street.
 
“There are picnic tables and a place to congregate,” Gibbs said. “This is a family- and pet-friendly business. We’re open every day, with entertainment on weekends.”
 
And parking, which was sometimes an issue at the Market Street location, is less so on 17th Street, he added. In addition to the parking lot on site, there is “parking everywhere” on surrounding streets.
 
“This is a safe, walkable area,” Gibbs said. “The streets around here are similar to those downtown, in that they have squared-off parking spaces, but there are no parking meters.”
 
Fermental has scheduled live entertainment and food trucks through the end of the year, with details available on its website.