E-Malt.com News article: USA, PA: Two Rivers Brewing Company to open by next year in Easton

The long-shuttered Mount Vernon Alehouse, recently purchased by Cosmic Cup owner Troy Reynard, is planned to be home to the new Two Rivers Brewing Company by early next year, Easton Patch reported on September, 22.

Taking the first official steps towards a planned opening for around February of next year, the new owner of the former Mount Vernon Alehouse, College Hill Cosmic Cup Coffee owner Troy Reynard was granted a special exception for parking and a variance for a food processing use by the Easton Planning Commission on September, 21.

Reynard, along with his wife Cathy and business partner Brad Nelson, plan to open a restaurant that will serve in-house brewed craft beers on the first two stories of the building including on the second floor balcony, with small museum dedicated to the history of local brewing on the third floor. A conference area, along with offices will take up the majority of the rest of the third and fourth floors, and the brewing facility will occupy the south portion of the old hotel from the ground to the fourth floors architectural plans show.

The variance for food-processing is to allow the brewing operation, a use that is not entirely new to the property, as Easton's Weyerbacher Brewing Company formerly occupied the space about a decade ago.

Reynard said his brewing operation will be less intensive than Weyerbacher's since Two Rivers Brewing Company will only be producing beers for the on-site restaurant, and unpleasant odors shouldn't be a problem for neighbors.

“It smells a lot like bread,” he said. “The actual brewing process will be on the second floor...We're going to be brewing about twice a week.”

Reynard said too, production brewing, to be done by a professional brew master from Allentown, will probably commence by next summer, several months after the planned restaurant opening, which is scheduled for February if all goes as planned.

The museum space, dedicated to the history of brewing in Easton, will feature artifacts from former Easton breweries Kuebler, Seitz and Bushkill, Reynard said, though it and the conference and office spaces will be finished later.

Once up and running, the restaurant expects to be open daily from 11:30 a.m. to midnight, and will employ between 10 and 15 people at first, with the possibility of adding more later, Reynard said, adding that he's looking forward to making the plan a reality as soon as possible.

“We can't wait,” he said.


23 September, 2011