Category: Brew Pub

Cocoon Brewing's Open for Business

2/7/2023

Cocoon Brewing has been long anticipated in the Ledgeview area, and it's finally open. Their soft opening in the first weekend of February was the first rumbling of a formal date with the following Monday opening their doors to the public. I was planning on being in the area anyway, so I diverted my afternoon to stop in and see what they have going on so early into their new business.

Firstly, it is somewhat difficult to see from the highway. If you don’t know where you’re going, it would be easy to go right past it. I suspect more signage is to come over the Brewery’s life. The building is striking when you turn off onto Kaftan Way. Google Maps will get you that far, so if you come with a mission, you’ll find it just fine.

The interior of the building is bright and vibrant in a way that the exterior, modern architecture does not betray in the slightest. It felt cozy, comfortable, and welcoming, to belly up to their short bar and order. The bartender guided me through the early modifications to their business model set to get them through the first month or so.

As of the writing of this article, their own beers are not yet available, and their taps are loaded with guest breweries from throughout the region. The bartender on staff during my visit reported a likely early March date for their own beers to begin trickling into the line up. Until then, house cocktails are available as well. If I hadn’t started out with a beer, I would have definitely been ordering from that.

0 Comments

Schlafly Highland Park - Highland, IL

1/12/2022

0 Comments

Going home for Christmas often provides the unique opportunity of reviewing restaurants outside of my traditional coverage area, and this year was no exception. It’s the first time in three years that I’ve been home. The universe gave me a gift: Schlafly Brewery of Saint Louis opened a location in the family’s ancestral home of Highland, Illinois during Christmas week.

After coming to the USA from Switzerland, the founders of the craft brewery first put down roots in a small town not far from where I would be staying this Christmas. I saw the news of the opening through the old television station I got all my news from as a kid. It struck me as unusual for many reasons. Saint Louis, while not far away, so rarely extends the tendrils of its businesses out into these rural communities. It wouldn’t be until I actually visited that I’d find out the historical significance of the choice. It also promised a dining experience to an area often underserved.

So I planned Christmas Eve lunch with my father and my husband at the new restaurant, and we arrived ahead of the doors opening to make sure we could get a table. The location wasn’t taking reservations– and they may never. That wasn’t particularly clear. What was clear, however, was that we were not the only people in the region with this idea. Even ten minutes early, car after car arrived to park along Highland Square and wait their turn to walk into the doors of the old bank turned brewpub.

When you enter, it’s obvious that the place was once a bank. They even kept the vault around as decoration behind the bar. The high ceiling and long dining room feel like the sort of place you once might have stood in line waiting on a bank teller. The wide windows on the right side of the room look out into the renovated yard, which will soon serve as an outdoor dining and entertainment area. There are tables with chess boards permanently part of them and concrete cornhole boxes set into the yard. We can’t wait to see it full of visitors in the summer.

0 Comments

Cocoon Brewing's Open for Business

Schlafly Highland Park - Highland, IL

Archives

Categories