I had the pleasure of working with Dave for approximately a year and half, from late 2014 through early 2016, on the design and build of The Exchange Brewery at 7 Queen St in Niagara-on-the-Lake.Dave is a talented project manager and builder, and undoubtedly has tremendous skills in managing large scale, commercial and industrial construction projects. Our build at The Exchange had many diverse components – an industrial brewing facility, a high-end tasting room with two bars, and a retail store; in addition, it had many unique challenges related to the original building (very close neighbours, a heritage building and a multitude of construction restrictions from the municipality of Niagara-on-the-Lake). Dave successfully planned and executed all the components of our project, effectively navigating the constraints and red tape that is Niagara-on-the-Lake and delivering a beautiful and functional end result.

I found Dave to be incredibly responsive and trustworthy. Never did I find that an issue came up when he wouldn’t urgently step in and address it – whether than be at 10pm or on a Sunday afternoon. He is very responsive by phone and on site regularly to ensure his team is working efficiently and the quality of work meets his high expectations. I also felt I could rely on him and trusted that he was treating my project like it was his own. The quality of Dave’s work, and the trades/suppliers he chooses to work with, is second to none. The Exchange’s tasting room atmosphere is very modern and premium, and my expectation in the quality of the work was perfection. Dave was consistently able to deliver excellent work, and when on the rare occasion the work did not meet my expectations he took full accountability for it and ensured it was dealt with promptly. Dave has an excellent relationship with the trades he hires and suppliers from whom he sources. I think this is not only a testament to the fact that trades and suppliers respect him and value their working relationship, but also has tremendous value to an individual project – as Dave is able to leverage his relationships to ensure timely delivery of supplies and securing the best trades on his projects.

Dave is always cool under pressure and when things go wrong/surprises come up (which is most certainly inevitable in any large commercial project) he effectively troubleshoots the problem and quickly comes up with solutions. He has a natural stress-reducing manner which I appreciated on our project, and suspect his teams appreciate as well. I have had the opportunity to work with several GCs and builders over the years, and unquestionably Dave is the best I’ve worked with and would recommend to my friends and family. When I look to build Phase II of the brewery (a larger scale production brewery) I hope to work with Dave and Claymore Construction on the project.