Mortalis Brewing, DoughBoyz team up for cocktail bar in historic space
Mortalis Brewing, DoughBoyz team up for cocktail bar in historic space
The Livingston County brewery and the former pop-up pizza purveyors open venture at The Richmond in Rochester.
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What started as a pizza-fueled parking lot pop-up has blossomed into a full-grown partnership in a wildly unexpected spot.
Avon-based Mortalis Brewing, known for its lineup of hyper-fruited sours, vibrant hazy IPAs, and culinary-influenced dessert stouts, is partnering with DoughBoyzRoc to re-open The Richmond, 21 Richmond St., one of Rochester’s most historic bars.
It won’t be a Mortalis taproom inside the 102-year-old building just off East Main Street. It will be a spot to enjoy fresh Mortalis beers on draft and by the can, however.
The pair first linked up early in the pandemic when DoughBoyz would set up shop early on Saturday mornings to make pizzas for the thirsty masses lined up for Mortalis’ various beer releases in Livingston County.
The new venture will serve as a spot to enjoy a well-crafted cocktail or natural wine, a Mortalis beer on draft, and thoughtfully executed and inventive pub favorites and pizzas from DoughBoyz. The Richmond officially opens Thursday, just in time for the Buffalo Bills season opener. (And yes, we all know this is the year Josh Allen and Von Miller lead the Bills to a Super Bowl win.)
“I’ve always wanted a tiki bar,” said Mortalis co-founder/co-owner Paul Grenier, noting the brewery owns The Richmond and is teaming with DoughBoyz (with an expanded kitchen and pizza oven) to provide food. “Before I leave this world, I definitely want a tiki bar. I love that culture, as you can tell by a lot of our beers. When the bar concept was brought up, I was excited about it, even though this isn’t a tiki bar.
“We’re big cocktail people. We wanted a pretty casual place where you could get a good Old Fashioned, get a really great Manhattan. And you add in some rotating beers and food in a family-friendly atmosphere, it’s just a great partnership.”
A re-imagined classic
Like all service-based businesses and breweries, Mortalis had to perform a pandemic pivot. The brewery relied almost exclusively on to-go can sales and taproom traffic before the pandemic. With businesses shuttered during the pandemic, Mortalis shifted, pirouetted, and shimmied toward a new way of doing business.
The taproom was taken down at the brewery’s Livingston County location and the owners invested in new infrastructure, including a centrifuge, canning line, and expanded fermentation capacity. As demand continued to outpace supply, Mortalis grew. But it needed to send beer into new markets and work with new distribution partners to keep afloat. It’s why the brewery is now registered to sell beer in 16 states.
As pandemic restrictions have eased and people have made their way back into brewery tasting rooms, the Mortalis crew began exploring ways to expand its footprint into its native Rochester. When DoughBoyz founder Zobel, who was part of the original team that renovated and reopened The Richmond last summer, introduced the Mortalis team to the new Richmond partners, wheels started spinning — what if Mortalis updated the space a bit more and kept the same focus on cocktails, spirits, and added a Mortalis spin? The new Richmond, however, closed after a few months.
“Jim made the introduction,” Mortalis co-founder/co-owner Jason Kiefer said.
“He knew we wanted space and we wanted to diversify,” Grenier added.
“While this wasn’t going to make sense for Mortalis-branded taproom, the opportunity to take over a historic bar/restaurant near downtown Rochester was too good to pass up,” Kiefer concluded. “So we hammered out the deal and bought the business back in April.”
It’s best to view The Richmond as a subsidiary, a sister business to the Avon brewery, not a Mortalis-themed taproom. (Maybe we’ll get one of those soon?!) Mortalis owns the business and the liquor license is under its name.
The historic wooden bar remains the focal point of The Richmond’s first floor. The second floor, however, has more of a cocktail lounge feel. A second bar, one devoted to cocktails and wine, was added upstairs. And the new bar overlooks The Richmond’s famous downtown-adjacent rooftop patio. On a warm night, there are few better places in Rochester to enjoy a beverage.
A logical partnership
It’s a partnership forged over many Saturday mornings as DoughBoyz brought its pop-up pizza setup to Avon to satiate the hungry line-dwellers. (If you never got a chance to experience DoughBoyz’s breakfast pizza, you really missed out.)
Zobel was in on the ground floor of The Richmond rebirth last year. From 1985 until late 2000, the establishment was known as Richmond’s. It’s central location catered to so many and it garnered a following thanks to its famous wings. (Those are still on the menu by the way. But expect some inventive variations and riffs on the Rochester classic.)
So the DoughBoyz/Mortalis partnership is one forged through the trying times of the pandemic. It resulted in a strong bond and conversations about how the relationship could be expanded.
“These guys are next level,” Kiefer said of the DoughBoyz team — Zobel and sous chef Josh Hunt. “The beer community is very much about collaboration. And to have a food partner we’re collaborating with on a daily basis, it’s amazing. I am stoked about it.”
Zobel said The Richmond provides a perfect platform to elevate the DoughBoyz brand and to also experiment with long-loved pub favorites. A space-age pizza oven was installed in the expanded kitchen. Everything was upgraded. Hunt and Zobel are long-time friends and first met 12 years ago while working at Wegmans.
“It’s nice to have a home,” Zobel said. The menu includes a variety of pizzas and wings. Zobel said they’ll “be able to flex” with rotating specials.
A new outlet
Kiefer and Grenier are both Rochester natives. The entire Mortalis ownership team lives in Monroe County. So they always hoped to bring the brand and the beer back home. They noted they aren’t going anywhere in Avon. They remain strongly committed to Livingston County, especially after investing so much time and money to expand beer production there.
“We want to grow in our own neighborhoods, in our own backyard, and then start to push out from there again,” Grenier said. “The pandemic gave us no choice to move beer out of state (through distribution).”
“We love Livingston County and will be there for a long, long time,” Kiefer added. “But to find a spot in Rochester and invest in the community we grew up in, it’s one of our dreams.”
Grenier said the brewery’s new distribution partners in different markets allowed them to grow the brand on large scale. Mortalis already boasts nearly 40,000 followers on Instagram.
“Now, let’s spread the message locally,” Grenier said.
It’s really a homecoming for Mortalis. And while it isn’t a Mortalis taproom, there will be a heavy Mortalis influence.
“You’re going to be able to get all kinds of fresh offerings here,” Grenier said. That will include eight draft beers with two nitro lines, one of which will be devoted to a Mortalis stout. Currently, one nitro line features the Mortalis’ luxurious and family-eclipsing As Above So Below imperial coffee stout. (I challenge you to get a dessert sidecar of this beer and enjoy it side-by-side with one of Mortalis’ lagers or IPAs.)
The lineup will also feature canned fruited sours and IPAs on draft.
“We want to have that constantly fresh, rotating beer program we have in Avon and bring it here, so people can get a taste of Mortalis in the city,” Grenier said.
Grenier said there will also be draft releases (before the beers will be available in Avon) and frequent can drops at the Rochester spot.
“You asked if we dreamed of owning a cocktail bar, no,” Kiefer joked. “But one of our dreams is to invest in this community. We’re glad to be in both communities.”
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