Boerne’s brewing and restaurant scene keeps growing, and the latest addition coming in spring 2023 is keeping the ball rolling on both fronts. The planned 28 Songs Brewhouse + Kitchen will be the first brewery on North Main Street and owners vow to have something for everyone’s tastes. The plan is to have 28 taps with a mix of housemade beers and guest taps, but the goal is to eventually have a wide variety of 28 of their own beers on, said Don Kretz, a managing partner in the enterprise and a homebrewer for 25 years.
“We want to explore. We want to widen people’s exposure to what’s out there,” Kretz said. “Let’s give people who are craft beer drinkers a chance to try something new.”
Kretz and his partners have kept the project quiet until finalizing the lease as the first tenant in the charcoal gray and reddish building at 110 Market Ave. and North Main away from the hustle and bustle of South Main Street.
The brewery and restaurant will take up about 4,100 square feet of the 13,000-square-foot retail development, feature a large patio and have ample parking. The taproom itself will be seat about 150 people, including a long bar with seating up to 25.
Kretz teamed up with well-traveled chef Matt Lopez, also an owner, to run the dining side of the operation. Lopez has owned restaurants in Kerrville and Ingram and has worked in well-known kitchens in Houston, New York City, Sacramento and San Antonio.
Expect the kitchen to serve up smoked meats, interesting appetizers and a classic bread pudding recipe he brings with him from his other ventures.
“We’re going to be focused on food people like to eat while they’re drinking beer,” Kretz said. Spent grain from beer production side will end up in goods from the kitchen such as breads and perhaps even dog treats. Beer also will be incorporated into several dishes.
Both Kretz and Lopez have veteran credentials, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy respectively. The ownership group is rounded out by health care administrator Joe Valenzuela and a silent partner.
Every brewery name has a story, and 28 Songs is one all the amateur ornithologists can appreciate. The cardinal, which features prominently in the branding of the brewpub, was a welcome guest in Kretz’s family.
“Every time a cardinal comes around, someone will comment that ‘granny is coming around for a visit,’” or invoke the name of another lost loved one in the family, Kretz said. His father in Wisconsin had recently shared with him that cardinals communicated in song and that they had 28 distinct songs.
An architect is completing plans for the space for approval by the city and the owner of the building. If all goes according to Kretz’s timeline, the brewpub could have its soft opening by March.
The brewing equipment is on order and expected to arrive in January.
Here are the details for brewing aficionados. The system consists of five tanks of five barrels each from the Canada-based Brewha Equipment Co. Each one is a self-contained unit for brewing and fermenting. The jacketed tanks allow the water for heating and cooling to be reused, and not having a separate brew kettle and mash tun cuts down on water use for cleaning.
Most of the beers will be kegged to keep the new beers coming.
Kretz said the venue will be family friendly with a digital jukebox, televisions, shuffleboard tables and occasional live music. “We want this be a welcoming place.”
Travis E. Poling has been writing about Texas beer for 25 years and is co-author of two books on the subject including “San Antonio Beer: Alamo City History by the Pint.” Email him at [email protected]
Comment
Comments