Delaware will get its third craft brewery when Old Dog Alehouse & Brewery opens its doors next week.
The new restaurant and brewery is owned by Jessica Spann with partners Braden Henderson (managing the kitchen), Tanja Hughes (managing the restaurant), Steve Hughes (managing the brewery), and Spann’s parents Neal and Kathy Kruse, who formerly owned the Firehouse Tavern in Sunbury.
“I’ve been in this business for a long time and when my family sold the Firehouse Tavern I really missed it,” said Spann. “I used to work with Tanja and when I told her I was thinking of getting back into the restaurant business and opening a place, she said that she and her husband were also looking to open a place for him to brew beer, and it just kind of snowballed from there.”
The approximately 5,600 square foot space in downtown Delaware will seat around 150 guests. A 1,300 square foot patio will be renovated over the winter to open in the spring.
While the restaurant and bar are slated to open on Tuesday, November 13, the brewing operation will not be up and running until January. The small 3.5 barrel nanobrewery will be producing a variety of styles with the first brews likely to be American Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, Amber Ale, German Lager, Kolsch Style Ale and a Nut Brown Ale. Between 4-6 of the bars 12 taps will be dedicated to house beers once they are available.
Spann is a dog lover (the brewery is named for her bulldog Layla) and plans to host frequent charity events for dog rescues at the brewery as well as regular Pups on the Patio events.
Old Dog Alehouse & Brewery is located at 13 W William Street in Delaware, Ohio. The bar will be open Tuesday-Wednesday from 11am-9pm; Thursday from 11am-10pm; Friday-Saturday from 11am-11pm; and Sunday from 10am-9pm.
UPDATE: An earlier version of this article said that Old Dog Alehouse was opening this weekend but the soft opening events taking place this Friday and Saturday are not open to the public.