New brewery, Smugtown, proposed for Henrietta
Brewery is the brainchild of Jason Fox, former head brewer at CB's and current brewer at Battle Street in Dansville
Finally! Henrietta is getting a craft brewery. Or at least plans for one have been proposed to town officials.
Smugtown Brewery, which would be located at 2199 East Henrietta Road in Suburban Plaza, is awaiting approval from the town board. The board will consider the special use permit application at its next meeting on Wednesday, May 10.
Joel Chiarenza, who owns the plaza and would be a 50-percent partner for the 5,000-square-foot brewery, submitted the application. Jason Fox, the former head brewer at CB Craft Brewers in Honeoye Falls and mastermind of its Caged Alpha Monkey IPA, is the other co-owner and will be head brewer. Fox currently leads brewing operations at Battle Street Brewery in Dansville, Livingston County.
The application was submitted last month.
According to the town’s website, the brewery will sell “alcohol and light food with sit down and take out meal service, outdoor seating, and with the ability to have bands, DJs, or similar loud entertainment…”
Fox previously submitted plans and received approval in early 2021 to open Search Hill Brewing in the same plaza as Beers of the World in Henrietta. That project featured a different ownership group and ultimately fell through.
Chiarenza notes in the application that Smugtown would feature a 5-barrel brewing system with five 5-barrel fermenters and one 10-barrel Brite tank (the vessel used for clarification and carbonation). He promised there wouldn’t be a shortage of beer styles at the brewery.
Battle Street Brewery, located in a historic, refurbished railroad depot, is currently for sale, according to a listing. The 6,500-square-foot property could be yours for $789,000. Battle Street opened in 2018.
Otto from the Rochester Beer Blog got a first look at the space. (I’ll have more in the near future as the project moves along.)
Chiarenza said the brewery features a great “hyperlocal location” and added it would be in good hands as Fox has formulated hundreds of commercially produced craft beers. The brewery would operate under the state farm brewery license, allowing it to feature other New York state-produced beers, wines, ciders, and spirits. It would also have a small kitchen with a simple menu focused on pizzas, boneless wings, charcuterie boards, quesadillas, and pretzels.
The Smugtown moninker comes from G. Curtis Gerling’s 1957 book called “Smugtown, USA.” In the book, Smugtown is a nickname for Rochester, one detailing the city’s history of millionaires and other institutions. It is meant as an indictment of the city’s ass-kissing culture. (Thanks, RocWiki!)
More details soon!
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I feel like this location came up during our brainstorm for a Henrietta brewery at some point.