Walking Distance Brewing Co. opens in Marysville

A blue brick standalone building on 8th Street in Marysville that once housed an auto shop now sports a wood-paneled sign on its façade announcing to the world that it’s a brewpub.

The Walking Distance Brewing Co. opened earlier this month, offering eight beers crafted in house, and plans to offer more in the future.

The brewpub sits in a residential neighborhood a short stroll from uptown Marysville and a brief walk from some of the vendors who supply ingredients, which inspired the title.

The building has a kitchen and owners Doug Olsen and Teddy Valinski say a food program is in their long-term plans, but they use food trucks for now.

The beer menu includes most of the staples people find in a typical Greater Columbus brewpub. Walking Distance serves two American ales, a wheat beer, two IPAs, a stout, a seltzer and a seasonal pumpkin beer.

“Right now we’re focusing on making sure that we have that solid base,” Valinski said. “Every time I go to a brewery (and order a flight) I want a pretty plain American lager, an IPA, a wheat or a stout, and I always want that experimental beer, like a seasonal or something they’re only doing once.”

When their solid base is established, Valinski said he and Olsen plan to add some more eclectic brews to their menu.

“This weekend we’re heating up one of our beers and adding mulling spices” for a hot beer that will resemble an apple cider, he said. Hot beers are popular in some European countries, and Valinski hopes the heated concoction will catch on in Marysville.

The owners transitioned from the world of engineering to open their first brewpub, and so far they say business is good.

“We’ve been open for three weeks and we already have regulars,” Olsen said.

They started work on the inside 10 months ago and had to replace nearly everything. The building had a dirt floor, Olsen said.

“It’s 100% new in here,” he said.

The interior now includes flourishes of both taprooms and upscale bars. Walls of exposed brick flank a concrete countertop on both sides, spherical lights dangle from an open ceiling, exposed pipes snake across the top of the taproom, and the brewing equipment is visible through an opening behind the counter.

The taproom is filled with sleek chairs surrounding hardwood tables and steel-paneled walls surround a small patio. A wooden counter with several round barstools sits underneath a window facing the street. That window opens to give customers the chance to drink outside and enjoy a view of the taproom when the weather cooperates.

Olsen and Valinski said they started Walking Distance because they love craft beer and found a lot to like in the Columbus brewing culture.

“Both of us really like the community of breweries,” Valinski said. “When we were opening, we went to all these different breweries and talked to them. You never see a brewer that’s unhappy.”

Olsen, who worked for Honda for 15 years, said his coworkers always sought out brewpubs on business trips and he appreciated the relaxed atmosphere that allowed families and occasionally pets.

“We’ve got a lot of good bars and restaurants in Marysville,” Olsen said. “But (breweries) have a different feel.”

Walking Distance is open Thursday through Sunday, but the owners hope to expand to Wednesdays soon.

pcooley@dispatch.com

@PatrickACooley