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Eli Fish Brewing Company

Episode #2, Batavia's Best Businesses: Eli Fish Brewing Co.

By Howard B. Owens

Here is the second episode of Batavia's Best Businesses with Nici Johnson. This time we feature The Eli Fish Brewing Co.

We are producing this series in partnership with WBTA AM/FM.  To view our first episode, Charles Men's Shop, click here.

Local business owners interested in more information: Call Lorne Way or Jim Ernst at WBTA at (585) 344-1490.

 

Genesee County Landmark Society Preservation Award: Eli Fish Brewing Co.

By Howard B. Owens

Award text:

The fourth recipient of this year’s Landmark Awards goes to Eli Fish Brewing Company for their Adaptive reuse of the building known as J. J. Newberry at 109 111 Main Street in Batavia. Matt Gray and Jon Mager are here tonight to receive the award.

I am sure most of you in the audience tonight are familiar with Eli Fish and the story of their creation of Batavia’s first brewery in many, many years. There has been lots and lots of press coverage of the project and many happy diners and beer lovers have paid a visit since their opening in March of 2018. 

Many of you have memories of what was there before- I have fond memories of Main Street Coffee and Pieces (the jewelry, frame spot, art gallery) being there in the early parts of this century. After that, Brian and Beth Kemp’s T-Shirt ETC found a home there as did The American Red Cross. Of course, the biggest memory jogger for Batavians and folks from Genesee County was the decades that the building was known as Newberry’s.

The three-story Italianate style building was constructed in 1881. The architect was George J King who designed several buildings and residences in the area. The building was built by C.H. Turner & Son Company, a prominent local furniture maker and undertaker, before the J.J. Newberry Company, a national five-and-dime store, purchased the building in 1929.

Downtown Batavia was a hopping center of commerce during those years –both sides of Main Street were lined with late 19th century 2 and 3  story buildings, filled with every kind of business needed for a county seat. Shops were on the ground level floor and offices above. On the corner of Jackson and Main the Bank of Genesee, the building stands still, next it the now long vacant Carr Building remains as well. Between Carrs and Newberry a theater once stood, but a fire devastated it in the mid-thirties and was eventually replaced with a single story addition onto Carr’s.

Following World War II, storefronts in Batavia and all across the country began to change. In an effort to embrace the sleek new look in vogue, many buildings were altered by covering up the brick facework with steel or aluminum. The Newberry building’s storefront was altered- but not to the extent that other Newberry properties experienced across the country.  In 1948 a single story building was erected to the rear of the original structure, more than doubling its length.  The

renovation included a relocated lunch counter with a curved Art Moderne hood.  Main Street Coffee incorporated into their operation and Eli Fish left a portion of it exposed in the entry area of the brewery.  The modern storefront configuration with large plate glass windows was a marvel at the time; it even warranted a full article and large picture in the paper announcing its completion.

Newberry maintained its façade between the 1920s and 50s, even to the point of utilizing hand-cut

wooden gold lettering across the signboard to advertise its presence on Main Street, which was much more

sympathetic to its Italianate Design. The use of gold-painted wood is noteworthy given the proliferation of

plastic molding techniques which have become the dominant sign making style since plastic became available en-mass in the 1940s. Indeed, the Batavia sign was reportedly done by H.H. Upham Company out of New York City, one of the city’s most distinguished sign companies.

When thousands of square feet of Batavia’s downtown meet the wrecking ball in the sixties and seventies, the Newberry Building remained. In 1996 it closed and was briefly home to another 5 and dime before it was sold to Andrew Mistler in 2003. That’s when the building was divided into two elongated spaces available for rent. Main Street Coffee and Pieces rented floor space for a period of time, then T-Shirts ETC and The Red Cross followed them.

In 2015, the building was sold to AGRV Properties with the dream of drastically overhauling the building into a Brewery, restaurant and living spaces. Matt Gray and Jon Mager consulted with the Batavia Development Corporation and arrived at the concept of Fresh Lab to bring in two start-up kitchens to supplement Eli Fish’s own operation. Shortly after purchasing the building, Gray and Mager brought in Buffalo’s Preservation Studios to start the process of listing the property on the National Park Services Register of Historic Places. That highly detailed process resulted in the J J Newberry building attaining a position on the list on September 11, 2017. It joins 23 others on the Register in Genesee County. The achievement, in addition to the historical significance, greatly enhanced the financial feasibility of the project to do a 20 percent tax credit at both the federal and state levels.

Construction began in the spring of 2017. During the construction process, the original plans for the brewery evolved from having the brewing operation on the first floor to moving it into the rear portion of the basement, necessitating the removal of portions of the floor and altering the project’s use of the interior space. The final layout occupies more restaurant space than was originally intended.

Since opening last year one of the two start-ups has left the operation but Eden ( featuring vegan fare) has been very well received as has Eli Fish’s beers and food. The operation at the brewery continues to evolve with additional soundproofing to reduce interior noise levels and adjustments to their menu to meet the demands of the clientele.

Quote from The Preservation Exchange Blog entry by Matt Shoen

“The density of our streets have decreased as companies attempt to gain their own spaces, damaging the feeling and cohesion of our cities. Simply look at images of old Batavia to see how the city's commercial district used to be dominated by three-story Italianate buildings, filled with large stores and commercial tenants on the upper levels. Much of these are gone, replaced by box stores and the downtown mall. The Newberry Building is actually a bit of an albatross, standing between buildings put up in the 1950s. The fact that the building maintained its form from 1881 to the present day is remarkable, even more so considering Newberry's company-wide remodeling plan from the 1950s that sought to sheath many of its buildings with metal siding. The Newberry Building in Batavia escaped this treatment, making it one of the few buildings in Batavia to survive relatively unscathed from the city's heyday….., reminding pedestrians of the shape of their old Main Street.”

Eat Well Grill approved for FreshLab, will provide healthy meal options

By Howard B. Owens

When Matt Gray and Jon Mager first conceived of FreshLab, the restaurant incubator inside Eli Fish Brewing Company, they envisioned providing a kitchen space for aspiring restaurateurs  who had food service experience, experience in food prep, industry knowledge, and a creative idea they wanted to try on a small scale before moving into launching a restaurant.

That's exactly what FreshLab is getting, Gray told the Batavia Development Corp. board Friday morning, with John and Jill Kratz, who are opening Eat Well Grill in June in the vacant space at FreshLab.

John is the long-time general manager of Bob Evans and Jill works at St. Joseph School but has also been running a food preparation business on the weekends using the kitchen at the YWCA.

Eat Well Grill will provide salads and bowls similar to what Jill has been preparing for her business Commit to Well, with proteins from beef, chicken, and shrimp to go with whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables.

It's a paleo diet. While it's healthy for everyone, it will be especially good for people with dietary problems, John and Jill deal with in their own family, which is how they got involved with creating the recipes for their dishes in the first place.

"There are a lot of great food options in the community but we think what is missing is something that is nutritionally sustainable," John said. "What we're looking to provide is something in the framework of sustainability."

As much as possible, ingredients will be locally sourced, John said.

Commit to Well has a strong customer base already and the Eat Well Grill will fill a need for those customers by providing meals when they're needed.

"I know a lot of my customers like the meal prep service but sometimes they forget to order and they're calling me at the end of the weekend to see if there is anything left over," Jill said. "They need something at lunch or at the end of the day and they're not thinking ahead because we're all very busy."

A walk-in and order grill is just what those customers need, she said.

John said, and Matt confirmed, demand for meals that fit this nutritional value is a growing trend across the country and in larger urban areas, including Buffalo and Rochester, it's increasingly common.

Examples from the menu: 

  • The Greek, a salad with romaine and kale, quinoa, grilled chicken, cucumber, tomato, olives, and feta cheese;
  • Caveman Cobb, a salad with romaine and arugula, napa cabbage, cucumber, tomato, corn, red onion, steak, and walnuts;
  • Green Goddess, a salad with arugula, spinach, romaine, cucumber, hard-boiled egg, bacon, and grilled chicken;
  • Spicy Shrimp, a bowl with rice, napa cabbage, arugula, carrots, tomato, grilled shrimp, sriracha sauce, and green onion;
  • Happy Garden, a bowl with rice, romaine, carrots, tomato, cucumber, broccoli, beets, and grilled chicken;
  • Good Harvest, a bowl with quinoa, spinach, arugula, beets, red onion, feta cheese, grilled chicken, and walnuts.

Gray said the Eat Well Grill will be a great match at FreshLab with Eden Cafe and provide customers a good alternative to the Eli Fish menu.

The BDC board approved Eat Well Grill for a small business loan for $25,000 from the BDC's revolving loan fund.  

The grill will employ two or three people. John will work at the grill full-time and Jill will continue to work at St. Joe's while running the meal-prep business out of the YWCA kitchen on weekends until the business grows enough to move into a single, larger space.

Photo courtesy FreshLab.

Photos: Hops for Hope at Eli Fish Brewing

By Howard B. Owens

The Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation and Gilda's Club of Rochester hosted a new fundraiser Sunday evening at Eli Fish called "Hops for Hope."

Proceeds from the event benefited both organizations, both of which assist children with cancer.

Danielle Rotondo, Donna Kabel, members of the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation board of directors, Laurie Napoleone, cofounder, and Mark Parsons, with Gilda's Club of Rochester.

'Hops for Hope' is Sunday at Eli Fish to benefit cancer charities, 'Hope Lager' will debut

By Billie Owens
Hops for Hope will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 17, at Eli Fish Brewing Company in Batavia. The brewery will be releasing its new Hope Lager at the event.
 
All of the proceeds from the new beer sale, along with the sale of several other items, will go to the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation and Gilda's Club of Rochester. Both organizations assist families undergoing the challenges of a cancer diagnosis.
 
Join us for an afternoon of “Hope” … listening to the music of Michael DiSanto, purchasing a commemorative glass that puts you in a cash drawing, participate in some games, buy some apparel and just spend a Sunday afternoon with friends.
 
Tickets are available at the door for $15 and include live music and appetizer stations provided by Eli Fish, which is located at 109 Main St.
 
Go to elifishbrewing.com for details or call 585-861-0550 or 585-423-9700 for questions.

Hops for Hope

By Lisa Ace
The Napoleone Foundation and Gilda’s Club of Rochester partnering for new event @ Eli Fish
 
Hops for Hope will be held on February 17 from 2 - 6 p.m. at Eli Fish Brewing Company in Batavia.
Event Date and Time
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Sponsored Post: Are you looking for something to do on New Year's Eve? Come spend the night with Eli Fish

By Lisa Ace


Are you looking for something to do on New Year's Eve? Come spend the night with Eli Fish!

We will be offering a special New Year's Eve Dinner for Two menu from 4 to 8 p.m. with desserts provided by Eden Cafe.

Genesee Ted will be performing starting at 9:30, and we will bring in the New Year with a ceremonial keg drop and the tapping of a new brew -- BRUT-ally Honest IPA. Click here for more details.

Sponsored Post: Eli Fish celebrates OktoberFest this Friday - Jackson Square

By Lisa Ace


Join the Eli Fish Brewing Company team as we celebrate OktoberFest -- our first! -- DER ERSTE! This Friday, Sept. 28 from 5:30-10 p.m. at Jackson Square.
Tickets are $8 in advance / $10 day of, and can be purchased at the brewery and at Eventbrite.com.

Enjoy the classic German beer hall sounds of The Frankfurters, playing from 6 to 10 p.m. They are THE BAND to celebrate OktoberFest with!

Be among the first to taste the inaugural batch of ELI FISH OKTOBERFEST BEER. Brewer Jon is giving the classic Marzen Lager that Eli Fish touch.

Chef Sam and team are preparing a special OktoberFest menu. Savor tasty German cuisine served by Eli Fish and the FreshLab Eateries. And you'll want to do some practicing -- we're having a beer-hosting competition, among other fun activities.

Sponsored Post: Father's Day Brunch at the Brewery

By Lisa Ace


Make Dad proud, and bring him to Eli Fish for Father's Day!

A fantastic Father's Day Brunch Buffet will be served at the brewery from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Sunday, June 17th. Join us for great breakfast and dinner selections along with special brunch cocktails as well. Cost is $19.95, kids under 10 eat for $10, kids under 3 eat free! Reservations for parties of all sizes are accepted and encouraged. Call 585-343-0008 today to ensure your place at the table!

Click here for more information.

Wild Rican now open inside Eli Fish Brewing Co.

By Howard B. Owens

Victor Figueroa's empanadas recipe was a big hit with the judges in the Foodie Challenge, propelling him toward winning one of two slots inside the FreshLAB restaurant incubator inside the recently opened Eli Fish Brewing Company.

Yesterday, The Wild Rican, Figueroa's Puerto Rican-flavored food stand, officially opened.

Pictured are Michael Scribner, Michelle Figueroa, Victor Figueroa, and Cristal Nunez.

Photo: Ribbon cutting for Eden

By Howard B. Owens

Eden, the new vegan food booth inside the Eli Fish Brewing Company restaurant at 111 E. Main St., Batavia, held a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting Sunday afternoon.

Eden is one of two new food establishments opening inside Eli Fish, as part of an initiative sponsored by the Batavia Development Corp. called FreshLAB. 

Owner Judy Hysek cuts with the ribbon Jim Turcer, left, the first paid customer, Chamber of Commerce President Tom Turnbull, Chris Hysek, Judy's husband, Tracy Burgio, representing FreshLAB, and David Balonek, Judy's father.

Eli Fish Brewing Company ready for grand opening tomorrow

By Howard B. Owens

There have been some nice surprises along the way in getting Eli Fish Brewing open over the past couple of weeks for owners Matt Gray and Jon Mager, not the least of which is the crush of people crowding into the large bar and dining area that was once the retail store space of J.J. Newberry.

There's also the quality of the staff they've been able to hire; how well the brewery is working out as a workspace for Mager; the quality of the New York brews and spirits they've been serving; and the overwhelmingly positive feedback they've been getting in person and on social media from customers throughout Western New York.

Now, it's time for the grand opening, which is Saturday and will highlight the launch of the first two new beers from Eli Fish. There will be a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m. with food samples served until midafternoon and $5 drafts all day long.

"Our nighttime crowds have been pretty surprising," Gray said. "Our Friday and Saturday nights have been very good. We’re serving a lot of guests and everybody seems to be happy with it."

For those visitors who get out and about often in the community, there has been a common observation as they wade through the large crowds on a Friday or Saturday night -- a lot of unfamiliar faces.  When you are out and about often enough in a small community, you get used to seeing the same people. There's a lot of new faces showing up at Eli Fish.

Gray, who also owns Alex's Place, has noticed the same thing.

"I'm noticing two different things," Gray said. "The crowd that is here that I do know and is local I don't see at Alex's, so they're not dining at that establishment. And then there are the ones I don't know at all, and there's a lot of them."

One of the goals of the City and Batavia Development Corp. has been to encourage more restaurants and bars downtown to help capture the estimated $2 million local residents spend in Rochester and Buffalo rather than Batavia. Of course, bringing people from Rochester and Buffalo and the other surrounding counties to Batavia would be a good thing, too.

Gray said one of the things they'll do with the grand opening is hold drawings, which include a registration that captures the zip code of entrants so they can get a better feel of where their new customers are coming from.

Mager said several posts on social media have indicated people are driving from the two metro areas to Batavia to visit Eli Fish.

But a common theme in the reviews is also that once people are inside the building they don't feel like they're in Batavia. They feel like they're in Rochester or Boston or somewhere else.

"That leads me to believe that there are a lot of people from Batavia who are coming and have been looking for something different, so it’s cool," Gray said.

Getting people to come into a new restaurant is one thing. Getting them to come back, especially to fill a space as large as Eli Fish, is another thing.

The positive reviews of the booze and food so far are a good indication people will come back, and there are trends in the first two weeks of the soft open that indicate people will come back. Gray noted that a number of people have come in expecting just a brewery but during the visit also learned there are menus with hearty entrees and a fully staffed and stocked kitchen. There's already a trend, he said, of people coming back for a second visit for lunch or dinner.

To help provide reasons for people to visit Eli Fish regularly, Gray and Mager installed an indoor bocce court. They plan to sponsor bocce leagues and tournaments. They are also considering euchre and bridge tournaments, as well as other games suitable to the space.

"Jon and I, right from the get-go, have looked at Eli Fish as a community space, a place where people go to meet, whether it’s family, friends, business meetings, events, and so on," Gray said. "We're very surprised at the number of calls that we’ve gotten to book larger events, 30 to 50 people. We have a lot of those already scheduled."

Another attraction for customers, of course, will be the two food stands inside the building that will be occupied by winners of the FreshLABs restaurant startup competition. EDEN Vegan has already been selected for one of the spaces and is expected to open April 22.

Mager said he's also been pleased with the brewery they built in the basement of the century-old building.

"We did a good job making it a functional space," Mager said. "We’re not too cramped. We’re not tripping over ourselves, so brewing down there is enjoyable and so far it’s gone very, very well."

While the light has shone the first two weeks on the restaurant and bar, Saturday is Mager's big day when his first two beers from the brewery make their debut.

There will be an IPA called "First Draft" and a blonde that didn't have a name as of Thursday afternoon but will be christened by Saturday.

"Saturday is going to be a pretty fun day," Mager said.

One unique feature of the bar is that all of the beers and spirits are brewed or distilled in New York. There are no mass produced brews or liquors. Everything is handcrafted.

That means some of the labels can be pretty unfamiliar to most customers when they first come in, that puts pressure on servers to have good palates, experience and knowledge of what they're serving.

"One of biggest, pleasant surprises we had was the quality of the people that applied for our serving and bartending jobs," Gray said. "They are experienced. They know their stuff and they are open about learning new things."

New customers, new beers (20 on tap) and new spirits, and new staff have meshed nicely together so far, Mager said.

"It is a learning experience on what to recommend to somebody who comes in and says 'I like Coors light, what would you recommend?' and I think everybody’s been picking it up pretty well that, yeah, it is a craft beer, but it doesn’t mean that it’s super hoppy and super alcoholic. We have light craft beers and the few that we have that fit that bill have been the highest sellers."

Both Gray and Mager have been surprised to discover just how good New York's spirits can be, as well.

"Most people don’t think that New York is going to produce like excellent world-class gin,' Mager said. "We’ve got gins back there that I would put against Beefeater and everything else all day.

"There is a vodka out of Clarence," he added, "that me and Matt sampled together. It was fantastic. It’s not like you're making a concession. It’s not like you’re settling for something less than premium."

With Gray quickly adding, "They’re premium."

Gray likes Irish whiskey, but he enjoys all whiskey and it's been an adventure sampling what New York has to offer.

"I like trying them all," he said.

"That’s pretty much my outlook on craft beer," Mager added. "I don’t like going to a bar with a specific beer in mind. I like trying them all. Sometimes they’re not my favorite but I like the adventure of trying them all."

Eli Fish is someplace not like Batavia, is the feedback, someplace that offers a bit of an adventure, someplace to bring the community together, and it seems that so far Eli Fish is off to a good start.

But it's not complicated, said Gray, who got his start in the food business a couple of decades ago with Matty's Pizzeria. The basics remain the same.

"A lot of things have changed (since Matty's) but it's all the same thing," Gray said. "There are only two people you’re trying to make happy, and that’s your guest walking in the door and your staff.

"You want to make sure everyone working with you wants to be there and is happy to be there, and then you want to make sure they are also making sure that every guest who walks in is happy with what you’re putting out and the service you’re getting. Whether it’s a round pizza or a square plate, it’s pretty much the same thing."

Photo: A sign of progress at Eli Fish Brewing

By Howard B. Owens

Eli Fish Brewing, the new downtown restaurant and brewery going into the former Newberry building, was adorned with its new sign on the front of the building today.

Inside, managers and more than a dozen new staff members were busy with training and setup.

The business should be open to the public within a couple of weeks.

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