The Old Bakery Beer Co. restaurant/bar is getting closer to its opening.
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The business located at 400 Landmarks Blvd. in Alton is owned by James Rogalsky and his wife, Lauren, who both attended Marquette and Alton High School. They plan on opening for business by the end of the month.
For Rogalsky owning a brewing company is a dream and the same holds true for Lauren as far as directing and marketing the restaurant/bar side of the business. Lauren was general manager for Urban Chestnut Brewing in St. Louis prior to opening this location. The young couple work together as a team each day, breaking down the various chores to open.
“I fell in love with craft beer at age 18,” James Rogalsky said. “I started home brewing when I was 21. I was majoring in sociology at UMSL (University of Missouri-St. Louis) and realized the job prospects were somewhat limited and I started looking up brewing schools and decided to make it a career.”
He enrolled in an American Brewer’s Guild course in Vermont that covered extensively brewing science and engineering. The course lasted 25 weeks and he said he learned an immense amount.
Rogalsky said he hopes to have five beers completed in the new brewing company’s tanks by the opening of the business.
Old Bakery Beer Co. will have a significant economic impact on the area, with 33 employees hired to start.
With the soft opening, the new company will offer a smaller menu than in the future with salads, sandwiches and soups. The goal is to have the official grand opening on March 14.
Lauren Pattan said she was excited about the grand opening as it approaches.
“We are surprisingly both very calm,” she said.
Lauren attempts to eat in healthy fashion so she is going to approach that in the new restaurant with her supplies, which will be fresh and with as many whole foods as possible.
James already has an English Pale Ale beer, an India Brown beer and Pale Ale that are ready and he hopes to have a Rye Pale Ale and Porter beer ready at opening.
The initial menu will include these snacks: a local cheese plate with dried fruits and nuts, pretzels with whole grain mustard and beer cheese, hummus, billy goat chips and the hive popcorn, which is seasonal.
Other things on the menu are a soup of the day, salads: Caesar, greens, turnip and multiple sandwiches. The sandwiches will range from tofu banh mi, roast beef, a BLT, grilled cheese, club baguette with ham, pork and swiss and a turkey sandwich.
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