First Look: Midnight Owl Brewing, Opening This Saturday in Shaker Heights

Owners Rosemary Mudry and Joel Warger Credit: Douglas Trattner

It’s been a couple years since Joel Warger and Rosemary Mudry set out on their journey to open a craft brewery. On Saturday, October 28, the husband-and-wife team will open the doors to Midnight Owl (20312 Chagrin Blvd.), the first traditional brewery in Shaker Heights.

Warger is a veteran brewer with more than 20 years of experience. He worked at Great Lakes Brewing for 14 years before moving over to Goldhorn Brewery, where he was opening brewmaster and head brewer for seven years. Mudry is the Executive Director at West Park Kamm’s Neighborhood Development.

The team has reshaped the former Lucy’s Sweet Surrender space across the street from the Van Aken District into a bright, colorful and welcoming brewpub. A large section of the main floor was removed to provide sightlines to the 10-barrel brewhouse and row of fermenters, which ascend from the lower lever.

Midnight Owl will launch with six house beers and grow to a steady roster of eight, with a few guest pours added into the mix. Warger is starting with an assortment of quicker-brewing ales, but will be rolling out lagers down the road.

“I tend more toward the traditional, but I’m going to challenge myself a little bit more,” he explains.

The lineup on opening day will include Kölsch, Altbier, IPA, American pale ale and a hazy IPA.

The 100-seat pub bucks brewery tradition by sidestepping the industrial vibe in favor of a warmer one.

“We wanted to be approachable, to feel like a brewery but maybe not have everything in cement and metal and that look,” says Mudry. “We tried to soften it up with art and decorations.”

A fully equipped kitchen will offer guests an approachable selection of pub classics like warm soft pretzels served with beer cheese and mustard, beer-battered onion rings, soups and salads, and a trio of smash burgers. Also on the menu is a selection of housemade empanadas, a nod to the owners’ time spent in Argentina.

The goal at Midnight Owl is not to dominate retail store shelves or to be the biggest brewery in town, but rather to become a beloved member of the community in the same way as the corner coffee shop, say the owners.

“I think one of the trends we’re seeing in the industry is that people are starting to want that brewery in their neighborhood, in their suburb — a place where you can develop a relationship with the brewer and the chef,” Warger explains. “People like the hands-on approach.”

To start, Midnight Owl will be open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day but Monday.

“It feels exciting to be finally ready to welcome people in and get to celebrate with them,” Mudry states. “There’s been a lot of hard work and there have been a lot of people who supported us along the way and we’re excited to have a beer with them.”