MEDINA, Ohio - Developers are breathing life into a classic Medina building with a lot of history, with the goal of being a communal hub anchored by local food and beer.
The building is the Farmers Exchange on S. Court Street, not far from Public Square. The building stands as a resilient test of time. Jon Stahl, one of the owners, said it was constructed in 1904 and burned down in 1915. That fire destroyed a grain elevator and the 3,000 bushels of wheat it contained, and caused $20,000 worth of damage - about $250,000 today. The blaze spread to a gasoline tank in the basement. The tank exploded, and grains spilled onto nearby railroad tracks.
The building was rebuilt.
On one day in May 1920, firefighters set a record in Medina, responding to three alarms within 12 hours; the first was at the Farmers Exchange.
It burned again in 1935, and again was rebuilt.
There will be no more burning to the ground; it's now concrete with thick floors, and has been for decades.
"It's extremely solid," said Stahl who, with his wife, Patty Stahl, and Kayleigh Keller own 25% of the building.
A soon-to-be-named restaurant and market will be on the first floor with a mid-November target opening date. Medina Brewing Co. - an outpost of Avon Brewing Co. - is slated to open around mid-December.
Years ago, farmers would plop down their grains and crops on scales, and horse feed also was made in the building, which is close to a rail spur, Stahl said.
"At its peak, the Farmers Exchange was where everyone came to talk," he said.
Now, with this plan, it aims to be where everyone comes to eat and drink.
Stahl has been in the food industry for some time. He worked at Buffalo Wild Wings in Columbus years ago. Later, he even sketched out the idea for P.J. Marley's on a napkin. The name of their Public Square pub, by the way, stands for Patty, Jon and Marley, a dog they once had. The emphasis remains on local ingredients.
"We're all about local," Stahl said.
A marketplace within the Farmers Exchange building will be anchored by Keller Meats. Pierogies of Cleveland, a coffee shop and other retail also are coming in. Sixteen apartments sit above the restaurant.
The Farmers Exchange building is at 302 S. Court St., Medina.
The restaurant, Stahl said, will feature dry-aged steaks, barbecue, breaded and glazed pork chops, local vegetables, meatloaf - classic comfort dishes.
A demo kitchen - a unique and smart idea for classes - also will be nestled into the first floor, and old barn wood is being repurposed in the building's refurbishment.
In the end, the theme will remain "local beer, local products," Stahl said.
Stahl knows beer. When P.J. Marley's opened five years ago, he made it a priority to bring in craft beer.
Now, the Farmers Exchange will have its own brewery.
"We wanted it to be an outpost for Avon Brewing but also bring our brand and family into Medina," said the brewery's Mathias Hauck, who added tanks are slated for delivery in mid-November.
In keeping with the local theme, he aims to use Medina County ingredients as much as possible in the five-barrel brewhouse, which will produce some of the beers folks are used to in Avon - like King KoKonut Porter and India Pale Ales - but he is open to other styles as well.
"Different counties, different cultures," he said. "We don’t use a whole lot of local malts or hops (in Avon). The plan is to use almost exclusively all local hops."
Hauck and Co. have been busy. When they were first approached about the idea of expanding to Medina, they said no. Hauck and his fellow owners at Avon Brewing had their eyes on ZZ's Big Top, which they bought and plan on converting into a "craft-beer roadhouse," he said. It's on Detroit Road in Avon. But the more they thought about it, the more Medina appealed.
"The community itself is what we wanted to be a part of - much like Avon," Hauck said.
"We're not interesting in distributing our product on a grand scale," he said. "It was never our business plan to start (widescale distribution); those numbers don’t add up to us as a family. This was a way to get our concept, our brand, our family into Medina County. We're excited to be a part of it."
The multi-use space appeals to both Hauck and Stahl. In addition to hoping to "stimulate growth in Medina" Stahl said the added bonus is "You'll be able to do a nice little brewery tour in Medina."
That tour is made possible by the area's burgeoning craft-beer community. For years, Lager Heads was the only Medina brewery. Now, Wrecking Crew Brew Works is open. Blue Heron Brewery received state approval to brew last week. Franklin Brewing Co. is moving into the Foundry Social entertainment center. And Planted Flag Brewing Co. broke ground this year.
“We’re all in this together,” Hauck said.