What's going up

Owner: Easybar

General contractor: Christiansen’s Contracting Co., Redmond

Architect: MS-Architecture, Bend

Details: Construction started earlier this month in Bend on a 10,600-square-foot building for Easybar, a Tualatin maker of devices that regulate the amount of liquor or beer poured in bar drinks.

The construction comes as the company prepares to shift much of its 40-employee workforce to Bend through the end of 2013, said Easybar CEO James Nicol.

The new facility is going up on Layton Avenue, on a vacant industrial lot near the street’s intersection with Empire Avenue in northeast Bend. Workers were putting the finishing touches on the building’s steel foundation Friday. The Bend Community Development Department issued the company a building permit March 15.

“We’re basically going to shift everything (to Bend) at some point down the road,” Nicol said. The shift could start in July, the same time the new building is expected to be complete, he said.

Easybar was founded in 1968, and lists casinos in Nevada and New Jersey as some of its major clients, according to its website.

The company’s devices help bartenders ensure that they’re pouring the same amount of beer or liquor in each drink. Many states have different laws regulating the amount of alcohol that can be poured in a drink, particularly with liquor.

But Easybar’s move to Bend comes as the company expands further into the beer market. Nicol said the company has set up its devices at Worthy Brewing Company in Bend, and is talking with 10 Barrel Brewing Company about installing devices at its new Boise location.

“A lot of the liquor side of the business will still be handled in the Portland area,” Nicol said. “But Bend obviously is a big beer market.”

Easybar facility

63015 Layton Ave., Bend