CLEVELAND, Ohio – For many business owners, Covid and all its limitations brought a myriad of challenges. For Ryan Bennett and Ralph Sgro, the restrictions brought on by the pandemic allowed time for the duo behind Terrestrial Brewing Co. to take a serious look at their business plans.
That was a good thing.
Bennett and Sgro, co-owner and brewer, are expanding their business in Cleveland’s Battery Park neighborhood to include an event space and restaurant.
“We were actually ready end of 2019 and 2020,” Bennett said. “I was starting the process. Those plans were originally to just do the upstairs, and we are going to put a small kitchen up there and just run those two areas. And then Covid hit and we had to delay everything. And then luckily, what that allowed us to do is realize that, hey, Penny’s (chef Penny Barend Tagliarina) available, she wants to work with us. And we can do a lot more food, and we just need a bigger space. So that’s why we took the three locations.
“What Covid did for us – and I am sure with everyone else – is just re-evaluate your processes and figure out what works best. When we first opened it was just, ‘Go to the bar, order whatever you want, and go find a seat.’ Well, we’ve been doing table service ever since Covid because we had to and people seem to really like it and we really like it. So we’ve even continued table service all the way through this year as well, and it’s just kind of a nice thing that we kind of got thrown into but it works out well.”
The event space will be above the brewery and will include a stage to bring in bands.
“We want to ramp up the live music,” Bennett said.
The goal is to draw weddings and private events in the space, which can hold 100 to 125 people. It includes a warming kitchen area for catering, a green room for brides and band members, and bar. And it opens to a two-tiered deck.
The restaurant, in the former Cha Pizza space, will have a horseshoe-shaped bar and expanded kitchen.
“We are redoing everything over there; the kitchen that they had was way too small for us,” said Bennett, who said the kitchen will serve the brewery side and event space as well.
The three entities are close in size: The brewery is 2,700 square feet while the two additional spaces are 2,400 each, Bennett said.
All of it will be under the Terrestrial name, and food will continue to fall under the domain of Tagliarina, who’s known for a “farm-to-table approach” with her “California spin on it,” he said.
“Her food’s amazing,” Bennett said. “Anything that woman makes is gold.”
Target opening, based on approvals, is November for the restaurant and early 2022 for the event space, he said.
The brewery will remain a “dog sanctuary,” with pooches allowed inside, out on the enclosed patio, and on the adjacent grassy verge. No dogs will be allowed in the restaurant and event space. Brunches will continue and possibly expand to Saturdays, Bennett said.
It’s clear Terrestrial, located in the shadow of Edgewater Park, has established itself in the Battery Park neighborhood since opening in 2017. Down the line, Bennett said, the next step might be buying the building they are in, at 7524 Father Frascati Dr.
“This is a place we never want to leave,” he said.
I am on cleveland.com’s life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, here’s a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. And tune in at 7 a.m. Wednesdays for “Beer with Bona and Much, Much More” with Munch Bishop on 1350-AM The Gambler. Twitter: @mbona30.
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