Construction of an 1,100-seat microbrewery and restaurant planned for Cincinnati?s riverfront is expected to begin this fall with plans to open the venue by August next year.
On Wednesday, developers released new renderings and its lineup of local business partners for the Moerlein Lager House, a two-story, $4 million restaurant planned for the first phase of Cincinnati Riverfront Park.
?Our mission is to breathe new life and vigor into the grand brewing tradition that made Cincinnati one of the world?s greatest brewing meccas over a century ago,? said Greg Hardman president and CEO of Christian Moerlein Brewing Co.
The company has tapped the Cunningham Restaurant Group to serve as the Lager House?s chief operator. The Avon, Ind,-based firm operates Stone Creek Dining Co. restaurants in Montgomery and West Chester.
The menu is still in the final stages of development, said Tom Cunningham, a Cincinnati-native and executive partner of the restaurant group. His team envisions a blend of classic and contemporary fare that will include rotisserie meats, grain-spent breads, stews, salads, a full delicatessen menu and signature Lager House appetizers.
The hours of operation will be 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Wednesday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
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Mount Adams-based architectural firm Tilsley and Associates designed the 15,000-square-foot restaurant, which will be built on Main Street and bordering the new park?s event lawn above a public parking garage.
The building?s exterior will be built with steel and glass ? featuring expansive windows so patrons can take in views of neighboring stadiums and the Ohio River. Inside the firm is using brick from former breweries, stone and wood-beamed ceilings,
?We wanted to conceive an almost unexpected, iconic building that would convey both a sense of our region?s future and honor for its past,? said Greg Tilley, the firm?s founder.
Inside, the restaurant will seat up to 500 and include space for banquets and private meetings. A handful of rooms will be dedicated to Cincinnati?s brewing heritage, which dates back to the mid-1800?s when German immigrants including Christian Moerlein established breweries, hundreds of saloons and bottling operations across Over-the-Rhine and the West End.
Outside, plans call for seating for up to 600 in outdoor beer gardens.
Leading the facility?s construction is West Chester-based Schumacher-Dugan Construction. The building will include a green roof and sun-shading interiors. It will include a geothermal heating and cooling unit. Schumacher-Dugan said it will strive to have at least 30 percent of the work on the project involve small business enterprises.
In part, the project has become a reality thanks to the engagement of Cincinnati Growth Partners, a Lincoln Heights-based investment banking firm that helps private companies raise capital and develop growth strategies.
The firm helped raise the capital for the project and execute agreements between Moerlein Brewing and the Cunningham Group.
It also helped negotiate a 40-year lease between Moerlein Brewing and the Cincinnati Park Bboard, which Cincinnati City Council approved late last month. The city will retain ownership of the restaurant site.
When it?s finished, the facility is expected to begin brewing 5,000 barrels of Christian Moerlein beer a year. Tours will be offered of the microbrewery and heritage rooms, where guides will highlight Cincinnati?s brewing past and its beer barons of the 19th century, Hardman said.
Since 2004 ? when Hardman first purchased the Christian Morelein brand ? his firm has worked to revive iconic Cincinnati beer brands including Burger, Hauck, Hudepohl, Hudy Delight, Hudy 14-K, Little Kings, Red Top and Windisch-Muhlhauser.
At the lager house, Moerlein?s craft beers will be offered as well as guest brews, Hardman said.
Up to 200 jobs ? of which 150 will be full time ? are expected to be created by the project along with more $50,000 in annual earning tax is earnings tax revenue. Another 150 construction jobs are expected to be created.
?We?re looking forward to being an excellent ambassador for our city worldwide,? Hardman said.