Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Iron Hill reopens after extensive renovations
Brewery was shut down for 9 days
You might not recognize Iron Hill Brewery, but you’ll certainly still know the award-winning beer and menu.
Kevin Finn, president and owner, said sweeping renovations were completed Wednesday after the 10,000-squarefoot restaurant was closed for nine days.
A couple hours prior to the reopening at the 280-seat restaurant, more than two dozen employees hustled to get ready.
Two workers stood high on ladders near the antique ceiling at the former department store. Nips and tucks – fine tuning adjustments – were ongoing. And several window washers worked on probably the most exciting update.
Those seated or standing behind the bar will now face east and have a sweeping view through several large plate glass windows of brewers in the 1,200-square-foot area
“We’re going to be here for many, many years. We need to refresh, need to evolve.” – Kevin Finn, Iron Hill Brewery president and owner
where Iron Hill makes all its beers locally and onsite. There are 12 breweries in the chain.
Finn decided to “open up” the area directly behind the bar for patrons wishing to stand and sample some of the 14 to 16 beers on tap. He also added community tables, with up to 10 seats each.
Many credit Iron Hill for starting the revitalization of West Chester 20 years ago. Today, more than 60 borough bars and restaurants attract diners from all over the Delaware Valley.
“We were in the right
place at the right time,” Finn said. “West Chester would have changed regardless. We get to take credit.”
Finn said he had considered building a restaurant at Strode’s Mill, between West Chester and Longwood, on the site of what he said was a former “scrapple factory.”
After passing on that location, later that same day, Finn ate lunch in West Chester. He was intrigued by a real estate sign at the current location at High and Gay streets. At the time, buildings at all four corners at the major borough intersection were vacant.
He learned that the space was already taken, but when that deal fell through, Finn was back in the hunt.
What pushed Finn over the edge, and made him a West Chester restaurant owner, was attending the borough’s festive and wellattended Christmas parade.
“It showed that people would come to the downtown,” he said.
While Finn waited 20 years since opening to renovate, which he said is a
“long time,” most restaurant owners renovate every seven to 10 years.
“The concept was pretty classic, it didn’t need to be changed as frequently,” he said. “We’re going to be here for many, many years. We need to refresh, need to evolve.”
Gone is a server area that took up a “big chunk of space” and a second bar in the back that General Manager Eric Wood said was “an afterthought more so than part of the restaurant.”
As it does at 11 other Iron Hill Breweries, the menu changes twice a year. The spring menu still includes the popular and often imitated cheese steak egg rolls.
The new menu will feature
more choices with beer used in the cooking process, including with baby back ribs.
Football fans will appreciate added televisions, which are more visible.
Growlers are still available, but pounder cans keep beer fresher longer, Finn said. Over time, light, heat and oxygen create flat beer.
Finn said that many breweries do not carry lagers, because of a long fermentation time of up to two months. Iron Hill markets higher alcohol beers, although they are not typically big sellers.
Sugar is replaced by alcohol during the fermentation process. The higher the sugar content, the higher the alcohol level.