Havisham Bourbon, Brew & Spirits, Alto Pass

2024 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Adaptive Use

Husband-and-wife team Nick and Jerri Schaefer brought their vision for the Old Flour Mill building, restoring the 1860s structure and creating a lively and welcoming destination for travelers along the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail. Havisham is home to a bourbon bar and tasting room as well as overnight rental suites, which serve thousands of Southern Illinois visitors a year. The building is the oldest standing commercial building left in the historic railroad village of Alto Pass. From its time processing grain in the 19th century to serving as a hardware and lumber store and later a bed and breakfast, the building has served many purposes and undergone a handful of renovations throughout its history. However, this recent project is the first time the building was fully restored with later additions removed to allow beautiful and original characteristics to shine through. The result is a unique establishment that has sparked economic development in Southern Illinois, increasing tourist activity and creating local jobs.

(Photo: Before & after adaptive reuse )

Additional Information

The Schaefers were focused on accessibility and equity in the restoration of the historic Old Flour Mill building. They wanted to ensure everyone could enjoy the building and business. The original building was not handicap accessible, but now two of it’s four floors are accessible, giving everyone access to the tasting room and bourbon bar. The couple also understood some people may see bourbon as an expensive, luxury item, so they started offering “Happiest Hours” on specific days and times where people could experience bourbon at a discounted rate. Overall, they wanted to create a space where people of diverse backgrounds would be welcome and feel comfortable.

Project Principals

• Nick & Jerri Schaefer, Owners
• Frazier & Sons Construction, Carpentry
• Chris Poulis, Carpentry
• E&D Concrete, Concrete
• Schlenker Plumbing, Plumbing
• Wade Burns Masonry, Masonry
• Phalin Electric, Electricians
• Dean Stoffel Flooring, Flooring and Tile
• SI Heating & Cooling, HVAC
• Flamm Heating & Cooling, HVAC
• Paula Bierstedt Painting, Painting

LI Asks: Why is this place important to you?

Nick & Jerri Schaefer, Owners

“Saving an 1800s building in Southern Illinois has brought us closer to our community. Current and former residents have shown great support during our renovation. Local legislators, surrounding town economic development personnel and tourists from many other states across the country have even complimented us. Any time we can remove later additions to a structure and let the original architecture shine, we feel we are preserving the building’s integrity, thus preserving the integrity of our town.

We had the idea of a bourbon bar because there were no other “bourbon-focused” establishments in Southern Illinois. To have the opportunity to house such an establishment in an 1800s structure with so much character has boosted our business’ popularity and impressed thousands of customers. Saving this building and securing its foundation for what we hope is another hundred years to come makes us very proud.

When taking on this project, we didn’t want to add another winery-type establishment to the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail. We felt that was just more competition among a wonderful group of business owners. We wanted to add something “different” to the wine trail — to give tourists an extra reason to visit Southern Illinois. The wine trail has been excellent support for us, as we are to them, with our mutual referrals.”

LI asks: How did this place impact people in your community?

Nick & Jerri Schaefer, Owners

“The community spirit of Alto Pass is quite strong. When we began saving this old mill, we received letters of support, social media messages and in-person visits from current and former residents thanking us for our efforts and vision. The village board has been most supportive of our restoration. This is key for economic development in any community. When word got out that our restorations were leading to a one-of-a-kind establishment in Southern Illinois, local overnight rental locations increased, new businesses came to town and tourism exploded. The entire town has benefited from the preservation of this building. Other preservation projects have since begun, on both sides of Main Street. We have directly created 15 new employment opportunities in a town of around 400 residents, not to mention. During the preservation period, we hired several contractors and continue to employ them for routine maintenance.”

(Historic photo)