New masters for English Setter

There are new hands holding the leash at English Setter.

Jeff and Anita Bendio, founders of the four-year-old Spokane Valley brewery, have sold the business to a younger couple, longtime customers Reece and Jackie Carlson.

It’s the second local brewery sale announced this week. Downdraft in Post Falls reopened today under new ownership.

“We’re really excited,” Reece Carlson says. “We both love beer, and we’ve both worked at restaurants and bars for a long time. It’s always been a dream of ours to do something like this.”

Jeff Bendio, who turned 61 last month, says the sale allows he and Anita to move toward retirement. He also has an engineering practice, and she’s a Mary Kay cosmetics consultant.

“Getting up to go start brewing at 4 in the morning gets old,” Bendio says. “It got to the point where I said, I don’t want to work that hard.”

Bendio says the business has been growing at a rate of around 20 percent a year. “It did well, and we had a great time,” he says. “If I was 35 again, none of this conversation would be happening.

“But it’s a good time for us, and it’s a perfect time for Reece and Jackie. They’re going to be able to devote the time and energy to it. We’re handing them a working brewery that’s ready to take to the next level.”

Reece Carlson, who’s been homebrewing the past couple of years, regularly brought his beers to Bendio for feedback. He was surprised when Bendio called one day and asked if he and Jackie wanted to buy the business.

“It floored me,” Carlson says. “I didn’t see that coming in the slightest. We felt really honored and really blessed that they came to us.”

While the sale became official on Monday, the Carlsons have been running the business since October to gain experience and Reece has brewed the last few batches of beer.