The owners of Eli Fish Brewing Company provided a tour of their newly named brewery on Friday at the former JJ Newberry Building at 109 Main street.
Earlier in the week, owners Matthew Gray, Jonathan Mager and Matthew Boyd announced the official name of their microbrewery as the Eli Fish Brewing Company.
Mager looked into the history of breweries in Batavia and found that Eli Fish operated Fish’s Malt House at the corner of Elm and Main street in the 1800’s and it had the capacity to produce 16,000 barrels of beer in 1883. The Malt House burned many times during Fish’s ownership, but each time he rebuilt it at the same location.
The three will take over the building on October 31st and begin brewing. They are looking to open their doors to the public sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The brewery will offer a full service bar and food menu.
The FreshLAB concession area will open in March of 2018 and their will be three different menus to choose from.
Gray, Mager and Boyd have been working on the project since 2014.
The 10,000 foot open floor plan provides plenty of room for seating, full service bar, food services, a bocce court and brewing facilities in the rear of the building.
Mager, who is the brewer, says they will be shooting for a more traditional palate of beers. “It’s gonna be stouts and ryes, just creative traditional beers.”
Mager says the new brewery will continue the expansion of this area of Main street and Jackson Square.
“People want a choice,” says Gray.
“The eatery at the FreshLAB should bring a fresh perspective and a culinary vision to the kitchens. We’re are looking to provide a culinary experience you can’t enjoy elsewhere in the area.”