COEUR d'ALENE - A Coeur d'Alene businessman is working to convert an old auto repair shop and gas station building on Sherman Avenue into a craft beer and gourmet hamburger restaurant.

Rob Berger, 31, will call his new place Crafted Taphouse, which is projected to be open as early as April at 523 E. Sherman. It will likely have 10 to 15 employees.

Berger said Friday that ground was broken about a week ago on the remodeling of the building, which he said is owned by Paul and Mike Delay. Berger will be leasing the space.

"We're going to try and keep that industrial-type theme, with a modern twist," Berger said. "It's a great location for everybody involved."

He will have the building expanded from about 2,200 square feet of floor space to approximately 3,000 square feet.

It will also have approximately 2,000 square feet of outdoor eating and drinking space.

HDG Hissong and Hurtado Design Group, based in Spokane, is designing the restaurant remodel.

Berger said he'll have 30 different craft beers on tap, and 30 or 40 more in bottles.

"It will be a wide selection of craft beers from all over the world," he said. It will include plenty of local products, too.

"That whole scene is blowing up right now," he said of the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene area's expanion of craft beer production.

Along with gourmet hamburgers, the place will sell salads and sausages.

"We're going to try and do for burgers what Fire did for pizza in Coeur d'Alene," he said. Fire pizzeria is just a couple doors west on Sherman.

Berger is a Coeur d'Alene native who attended Lake City High School. He went on to earn a master's degree in business administration from Boston College.

Berger was an owner and founder of a Coeur d'Alene software company, HubWorks, which is being acquired by a larger company, something Berger just found out on Thursday. HubWorks developed an iPad-delivered customer order product for restaurants and bars. It started in 2009.

"It was a crazy ride," he said. "I learned a lot."

He added, "I've always had my eye on starting my own restaurant."

The executive chef at Crafted will be Gabriel Cruz, who has been working in the restaurant business "for, I think, his whole life," said Berger. "He's very creative."

JT Bartlett will be the business manager at Crafted, and the resident beer expert.

"He is probably the most passionate guy with beer I've ever met," Berger said. Bartlett is a North Idaho native, too, from Lakeland High School, Berger said. Bartlett is currently living in Seattle, but will move to Coeur d'Alene early next year, Berger said.