CLEVELAND, Ohio - Zack Bruell will launch one of his most ambitious projects yet, a brewery and brewpub in the East Bank of the Flats, and he will do it with one of the area's most consistent and well-known brewers: Luke Purcell, a veteran of Great Lakes Brewing Co.
The as-yet-unnamed brewery and brewpub will be located in the space formerly occupied by the Watermark, at 1250 Old River Road. The building - more than 100 years old by Bruell's estimate - sits about 100 yards south of Alley Cat, one of Bruell's restaurants.
Luke Purcell.
For Purcell, who has been at the Ohio City brewery almost 21 years, the venture is an opportunity coming at the right time.
"It's not about not being happy," he said. "There wasn't anything to entice me to leave Great Lakes for a long time. This is not the first time people have come to me. But this is the first time I thought it was intriguing. It certainly isn't anything where I was disgruntled.
"It sounded like the right thing to do. And something new sounds good, too. I've been where I am for a long time. It seems like the right time and the right place."
Bruell said his goal is to get necessary permits squared away by the middle of February to begin brewing soon after.
"When we went in it was like a time warp," he said. "All the equipment was still here."
The project also will hold a special place for the restaurateur: Bruell's son, Julian, is moving from New York City to work with the senior Bruell on the Flats project. The 26-year-old cut his teeth working for his father from a young age, studying hotel management at Cornell University. He managed at Jean Georges in Manhattan and has opened and worked at other restaurants.
"I didn't want to do anything with him until I could learn something from him," said Bruell, who turned 64 on Nov. 28. "This kid works."
While the bones of the Watermark remain intact, Bruell is redoing the entire interior of the approximately 11,000-square-foot space. The restaurant, which closed in October 2003, had a seating capacity of 450. Bruell always keeps an eye and a hand on the physical footprints of his spaces, and this will be no different.
"It's in the process of being resurrected," he said of the now dust-covered space with high beamed ceilings. "This is totally like building a new restaurant."
He is "reworking everything floor to ceiling," but will leave a sailboat anchored on its side above the bar. Brewery equipment, grain storage and tasting bar will be housed on the south side of the building while the dining side will have tanks and lines run to the bars. A new, and larger, kitchen line is being installed. Much of the work will center around getting the place up to code, since it's been empty for so long.
"It's going to be my take on what brewpub food is - but affordable," Bruell said. "The goal is to produce some great beer and great food to go with it. ... It doesn't have to be expensive to be great."
What it does have to be, Bruell said, is "accessible."
"The focus here is the beer," he said, "but like all my places that doesn't mean I'm going to compromise the food."
Bruell's restaurants are all in Cleveland: From Table 45 on the Cleveland Clinic campus on the East Side to seafood-focused Alley Cat in the Flats, from L'Albatros in University Circle to Parallax in Tremont and the Italian Chinato on East 4th, and others.
The Watermark's exterior.
A brewer, beer and a river
Two main reasons serve as the impetus for Bruell taking on yet another project: Purcell and the Cuyahoga River.
Purcell, 48, was working in landscaping for about "eight or 10 years," he said, before joining Great Lakes. At the brewery, he worked on every sized brewing system as he evolved into a Jack of All Trades in the brewhouse and beyond. He helped coordinate and plan events. He remained involved in beer dinners, instructed Beer School attendees, and acted as an emcee for multiple gatherings.
"I've done a lot," he said. "I started here; this was my first brewery job."
Through the years, Great Lakes brewers came and went at the state's first craft brewery. Purcell stayed. The industry continues to grow and remains vibrant in Northeast Ohio and beyond.
"Beer is hot," Bruell said. "Cleveland is one of the centers."
The river itself has been a catalyst to the Flats East Bank in warmer weather. Thousands watched the Cavs in postseason games on large-screen televisions set up near Beerhead and Alley Cat. The view from the Watermark spans several bridges, archaic buildings, passing boats and - at the right moments - a relaxing sunset and waddling ducks. Several restaurants have closed within the past year, but Bruell points out none had the view that this project offers.
Purcell, who met Bruell through a mutual friend, said working with Bruell enticed him to consider the project.
"At first it was just talk, and I didn't think anything would come of it," Purcell said. "When I heard Zack was involved, I thought this could be a big thing and cool idea. And the location is certainly part of it, too."
That location is not lost on Bruell.
"To be able to sit outside on the river, this could be a winner," he said.
The river view from the old Watermark.
About the beer
Part of a potentially winning formula will be remaining accessible to the beer-drinking crowds in the Flats. For starters, Purcell will be looking at "approachable" beers for the masses, so expect something like a "summertime, easy-drinking Kolsch" along with an India Pale Ale and others to start.
It will be "a good balanced lineup," he said.
But there will be chances for infusing beers and other experimental drafts, and both brewer and restaurant owner are keen on trying to pair beer with food. Bruell, not a big beer drinker by trade, has been exploring sour ales matched with certain dishes. The tanks came from Portland, a craft-beer mecca, and are in Cleveland, waiting to be set up.
Bruell said he will leave much of the beer operation to Purcell, a partner in the project.
"The styles? That's him," Bruell said. "I'll help name them."
"That's going to be one of the most fun parts," Purcell said. "Who knows where it's going to go?"
One possible direction might be a beer brewed specifically for each of Bruell's restaurants, though Bruell stressed distribution is not on the table. A line of endemic beers would be enticing considering the range of flavors coming out of Bruell's restaurants.
Other facets of the project:
* A wood-burning pizza oven will be brought in.
* The outdoor area has seating for about 100 people, and a bar will be installed.
* Crafting beers to match dishes on the menu is a goal, though the menu has not been determined.
* The tasting room will accommodate private parties.
* Boats will be able to dock at the restaurant.
* Look for beer dinners down the road.
* The brewpub probably will require as many as 50 employees, Bruell said.
* Parking will be available at the Samsel Supply lot across the street, and there are several nearby lots that have cropped up since the area's revival more than a year ago.
* There will be three total bars in the space.
The Bruell-Purcell venture might not be the only brewery in the Flats. Thirsty Dog of Akron is considering a move into the complex that includes Crop Rocks, Crop Sticks and On Air studio. It also will not be the first Flats brewery. Rock Bottom Brewery operated in the Powerhouse for 15 years before closing in 2010. And Crooked River Brewing Co. opened in 1994 and lasted a few years on Center Street.
Purcell said it is a truly bittersweet time to leave the only brewery at which he has worked.
"I'm very excited, but it's family at Great Lakes," he said. "I've always been treated like family. That's something that will never leave me."
But his eye is on the future.
"Hopefully," he said, "we'll influence each other's side of the business."