The planned Butler Brew Works on Main Street has finally gotten a construction loan, which is expect to lead to the opening of the business at about the end of the year.

“It’s been a very long process,” said Nick Fazzoni of Butler Township, one of the owners of the proposed pub. “Banks aren’t always looking to give money to anyone starting a new business.”

The loan was approved this week by the Progress Fund, a nonprofit lending firm.

Fazzoni, Gregory Deal of Butler, and Travis Tuttle of Bridgeville bought the property at 101-107 S. Main St. in December 2011.

The men originally had hoped to open their pub in 2013, but hit a wall in terms of funding.

“There have been a lot of ups and downs,” Fazzoni said.

But with financing in place, the aspiring brewers hope to open in some capacity in the next three to six months, barring any major setbacks with construction or licensing.

The pub may start out with a soft opening, offering a light appetizer with beer while the kitchen continues renovations.

“For obvious reasons we need to get revenue as quickly as possible,” Fazzoni said. “So we might open it in phases.”

But there is still plenty of work to be done.

“The building is gutted,” Fazzoni said. “It’s a hollow shell right now.”

The next step will be to finalize plans for the structure and submit them to the city for approval.

“We’re finalizing a lot of specifics from the brewery,” Fazzoni said. “Now that we know what we’re working with, we can finalize plans and submit them to the city.”

But to sell anything the pub will have to get the necessary licenses. That may be the most time-consuming process of all.

The brewery is under review at the federal level for a license to sell beer. Once that is approved, the pub will need to get state approval.

“That’s why we’re saying 3 to 6 months,” Fazzoni said.