USA, OH: Avon Brewing Company to move its current location to a new space

Big things have been brewing for the owners of Avon Brewing Company (ABC) and now they are ready to spill the exciting details, Cleveland.com reported on May 30.

“We can now confirm we have bought the three acres of land on Detroit Road (36383 Detroit Road) and plan to move our current location and build a new restaurant and production facility,” said Mathias Hauck, ABC co-owner/brewer. “The new space will afford us the opportunity to move our production from Madison (Ohio) to Avon. It will also enable us to can all of our beers in-house and distribute our beers right from Avon.”

The vacant land at 36383 Detroit Road once housed Spa Depot and before that, Gerber’s Garden Center, and even before that it was Forthofer’s Garden Center.

According to Hauck, the footprint for the new space will be more than 12,000-sq.-ft and will include a restaurant (with double the seating capacity of the current location), outdoor beer garden, separate party room, and production facility. Another exciting addition to the new location that will be sure to please guests will be the increase in parking spaces from 26 to 150 parking spaces.

“We have outgrown our parking situation and our space inside the restaurant,” said Hauck. “We will now be right at the corner of Garden Drive and Detroit Road with the traffic light right there for easy access in and out. The new location will be a really nice space with a really cool beer garden with a fire pit for people to gather. They can play games outside and we also plan to incorporate some live music.”

The separate party room will be able to accommodate up to 150 people for parties, showers and other events. According to Hauck, there are no restaurants in town with an event/party space as large as what will be built at ABC.

“Our current kitchen is very small and tight,” said Hauck. “It was built for a bar, not a larger restaurant. We make everything from scratch so to be able to have a larger space will enable my brother-in-law Brian (Weaver), who is chef and co-owner, to do some exciting things food-wise. We are excited for the possibilities. My father-in-law Ken Weaver is also a co-owner.”

“This plan has been in works for quite some time,” said Hauck. “The people who owned the space on Detroit Road came to us five years ago and wanted to know if we were interested. We were not at the time, but now, just coming out of COVID, we have been doing very well and it was time to consider this amazing opportunity. We put an offer in on the property and started the process of buying it this past September. It took us until the end of this March to nearly complete the process and we just closed on the property in April. We have the financing in place, we have the architect ready to go, we are working with the building department now, so things are going to move pretty quickly now.”

The nearly $5 million project is tentatively set to break ground later this month (once all the city approvals are in place). The tentative date to open the new location is May 2023. The current ABC location will remain open during the construction, but will close when the new space opens next spring. The space currently occupied by ABC will be available for any business wishing to purchase. ABC opened in 2016.

“We are very excited,” said Hauck. “This is life changing for my family. This is a big deal for all of our family and staff…and the community. The mayor (Bryan Jensen) talks about how this area is a focal point for our town. The pool is right by us, and the city’s playground. People have been so supportive of us and we can’t wait to have a place right in the center of everything. We greatly appreciate the support the community has given us and love giving back to the community. We have been voted Best Small Brewery in Ohio, and best Regional Brewery and that is all thanks to the support we receive.”

Hauck also noted that the plan for the new ABC is to be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.

ABC owners will continue to operate ABC Presents ZZ’s Big Top, 35015 Detroit Road, and Black Key Coffee which is adjacent to the current ABC restaurant, 37063 Colorado Avenue. By moving the tap room from the back of the coffee shop once the new ABC restaurant opens next year, the shop will be able to expand and provide more seating and possibly add a patio.

“We are all in with this town and we can’t wait to give Avon an even larger place to gather and celebrate our community with our new ABC location,” said Hauck.

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