Not even a year after their stateside appearance, Scottish brewery BrewDog will have three stakes in Central Ohio. Planned for October at the latest, just eight months after their debut in Canal Winchester, BrewDog Short North will open its doors.
“The Short North is one of my favorite areas in town,” said Ben Stewart, BrewDog Head of Sales and Marketing. “There’s a really good demographic in there. There’s a lot of choice in terms of restaurants and bars and shops and art galleries, and it feels like it’s just good to be part of that particular scene as well.”
Joining a block of bars, including Skully’s, Barrel on High, and The Standard, BrewDog will take over what was once the Raw Material Salon. The building at 1175 N. High St. will have the brewery’s trademark mural, but it’ll be considerably smaller than their Canal Winchester and Franklinton facilities. Looking to “make the most use of the space,” they’re planning an open concept with a patio that’ll spread the crowd to the outdoors.
Having had two established Central Ohio taprooms, Stewart said they’ll be using what they’ve learned to shape their Short North location. The menu is still developing, but, as always, it’ll be a slight variant from their other nearly-40 bars. For an idea of their direction, the Canal Winchester menu features small plates, burgers, pizzas, and a variety of larger plate entrees. They also serve brunch.
“We like to treat is as an individual entity, and we’ll be sitting down in the next few months looking at what that looks like for the Short North,” Stewart said.
After the Short North, it looks like BrewDog might be done with their Columbus takeover. As they continue their expansion in the states, Stewart said the initial focus is still on Ohio, but they’re also going to keep growing “the beer side” of the business, striving for ubiquity in the Columbus craft beer scene. The first bars to come out of the brewery will be their flagship Punk IPA, as well as Dead Pony Club (Session Pale Ale), Elvis Juice (Grapefruit infused IPA) and Jet Black Heart (Oatmeal Milk Stout).
“The bar is twofold,” Stewart said. “They’re obviously a great experience for anyone coming into our bar, but we also like to think that we can get people engaged in our beers, so they’re picking them up in other places as well, and we can become part of that consumer experience.”
For more information, visit brewdog.com.