Annual fire inspections have been a regular occurrence at Oak and Grist Distilling Co. since the business opened its doors to the public in 2017.
“Oak and Grist has been operating in the same location for the last 10 years,” said cofounder and head distiller William Goldberg. “For the last 10 years, annually, an inspector walks in our building and looks at everything going on.”
It was a process that never caused concern until June of this year, following a routine inspection by the Town of Black Mountain. Eight weeks later, Goldberg was directed to relocate the whiskey barrels in the building and prohibit the public from entering…