Uncap your growlers! The long-awaited
Chelsea Alehouse Brewery is nearing its debut in the Clocktower Complex in downtown Chelsea. Owner Chris Martinson expects to open Chelsea's first brewery in 28 years in late fall.
Martinson, who has been home brewing for nine years, liked that particular location because "it was a one-story factory building with cement floors and high metal ceilings, so it lent itself nicely to being used as a brewery."
The building's original industrial features, such as cement floors and overhead trusses, will be left intact. Martinson has salvaged some large old industrial windows; Robin Adair of Adair Restoration will re-glaze and mount the windows, which will look right into the brewery. McKinley, Inc., owner of the Clocktower Complex, is completing the build-out.
An associate brewer is beginning work shortly, and Martinson anticipates adding about 10 pub tenders and kitchen staffers. In addition to opening with a selection of 6-8 beers, he plans to serve a "deli-type" self-service menu of sandwiches, appetizers, and meat and cheese platters.
The 4,000-square-foot space will have live music in a 2,500-square-foot pub area with seating for 75. Martinson also plans to add a large outdoor seating area and beer garden. The exact size is still being determined, but Martinson says, "it'll be the largest outdoor seating area in downtown Chelsea."
Source: Chris Martinson, owner and head brewer, Chelsea Alehouse Brewery
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar
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