An award-winning brewery and distillery founded on the Sunshine Coast has pulled up stumps, with the owner blaming the council's "embarrassing" town planning scheme.

Diablo Co, which had been operating out of the Big Pineapple precinct, began a fruitless search for a new property when its lease was up.

Founder and director Dimitris Limnatitis scoured the coast for a rural site where they could grow sugar cane and ginger for their beverages and offer visitors a "farm-to-bottle" experience.

Thirteen hectares of land at Maleny, home to local landmark the Big Barrel, seemed ideal.

But Mr Limnatitis, who also co-owns three bars in Maroochydore, said it soon became clear the existing planning scheme imposed too many restrictions.

"They've got some boxes to tick, and it is not set up to see things outside of the box," he said. 

Sunshine Coast Council's town planning department recommended Mr Limnatitis find a site in an industrial estate, a common location for many of the region's other well-known distilleries and breweries.

"You've got concrete buildings, spray-painting ... do you really want to bring tourists up and drive through an industrial area to go and sit down and taste these amazing beers?" he said.

Off to greener pastures

When it became clear there were no viable options on the Sunshine Coast for what they envisioned, Mr Limnatitis and his wife and business partner Charlene Dellaway decided to look further afield.

They came across the old Cooloola Milk factory site in Dagun in the Mary Valley.

"We went up there and we've fallen in love," Mr Limnatitis said.

Talks with the Gympie Regional Council could not have gone smoother. 

"The mayor reached out to us and said, 'Look we want more employed people, we want to be on the map, we want to help you as much as we can'," Mr Limnatitis said.

Country hospitality

Diablo Co has been recognised in this year's Australian International Rum Awards and took out a People's Choice Award in the 2022 Australian Rum Awards.

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig said he was delighted to welcome the business north.

"It's an absolute win for Gympie — great product, great business, a wonderful success story," he said.

"It's still about farming, taking a ginger product and turning it into a beverage.

"There is a lot of ginger grown in the Gympie region and hopefully the farmers can benefit from this as well."

Cr Hartwig said the operation would also bring more visitors to the Mary Valley, and the council was always willing to work with businesses keen to relocate.

"We're trying to bring about a cultural change within our organisation, right across the board, but specifically in planning, where we are here to help and serve," he said.

'So far behind'

The Mary Valley operation is now up and running with plans to open to the public within the next six months.

Mr Limnatitis hopes his experience might prompt a shake-up for the Sunshine Coast, but added that he had worked well with other sections within the council, including its economic development officers.

"Every single department has to be on the same team," Mr Limnatitis said.

"Town planning is not set up for successful business — to help the region grow and keep up with the times.