BarrelHouse on the block Microbrewery an OTR fixture
By James McNair Enquirer staff writer
After 9½ years of making suds and grub, the owners of BarrelHouse Brewing Co. in Over-the-Rhine are selling.
Owned by a shareholder group headed by Mike Cromer and David Rich, BarrelHouse is one of the biggest microbreweries in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
The top five floors of its six-story building on East 12th Street will become home to Cincinnati Art Academy in June. Bids on the business and property will start at $100,000.
Cromer, a former General Electric finance manager who helped launch BarrelHouse in 1995, said he is forming a nonprofit group called the Sunfish Foundation to sponsor fund-raising events, starting with a family-oriented bike race next summer, the Red Rider Race.
"I've been managing this business for the past 10 years," Cromer said. "The restaurant business is a time-demanding business, and I'd rather be with my 11-year-old daughter at 6:30 in the evening than running a restaurant. It's time to pursue another avenue."
BarrelHouse produces 10 varieties of beer, including Red Legg Ale, Cumberland Pale Ale and Honeysuckle Blond, from 10 stainless-steel fermenting vessels on the ground floor of the building. Among its many resellers are Paul Brown Stadium, Great American Ball Park, about 60 regional restaurants and hotels and the Taft Theater. Its beer also has been showcased at Oktoberfest, Mayfest, Tall Stacks, Jammin' on Main and other festivals.
The property has an 8,000-square-foot first floor with a 293-person dining area, bar, brew tanks and a stage where bands perform three nights a week, Cromer said. Keate Partners of Cincinnati is handling the sale and will take bids through Jan. 30.
"A number of people have expressed an interest in the BarrelHouse," Cromer said. "One party is excited about it for the bottling opportunities. Another party has expressed an interest in using the BarrelHouse brand as a restaurant concept for multiple locations around the city. Others like exactly what we do here."
Keate principal Larry Pongonis said the rehabbing happening in Over-the-Rhine puts the BarrelHouse near the center of an area undergoing economic revival.
"We think it's going to be very attractive due to increased residential and commercial development in the area, including the Kroger parking and retail project that's in progress," Pongonis said. "We feel the development activity is going to make an impact on Over-the-Rhine over the next five to 10 years."
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