That long-range goal essentially will be cut in half. Sgro and partner Ryan Bennett have announced ambitious plans to expand the Terrestrial footprint into the adjacent space as well as the one above. When completed, the multifaceted destination will feature the original taproom, a full-service restaurant and a live-entertainment venue and event space.
The first piece of the project will take shape next door in the 2,400-square-foot space formerly home to Cha Pizza. Vacant since 2017, the same year Terrestrial Brewing poured its first beer, the first-floor space is being transformed into a 70-seat full-service restaurant.
“We learned that food really was the missing piece here,” says Bennett. “When we had La Plaza here it really drew business to this area. That’s when Ralph and I decided that food was something we wanted to do on our own.”
To that end, the owners recruited chef Penny Tagliarina to join the team as Director of Culinary Operations. Since January, the former co-owner of Saucisson has been hosting weekend brunches from a makeshift kitchen shoehorned into the front of the brewery. It’s not uncommon to see lines out the door for Tagliarina’s fresh, flavorful California-inspired fare.
Originally, the goal was to build out the upper lever to include a kitchen space that would support expanded food service up and down, but the plan shifted to next door. The heart of the operation will be the new kitchen, which will be capable of high-volume output that will support all three spaces. Across from the kitchen will be a 20-seat horseshoe-shaped bar with a custom-built tap tower. In addition to the house-brewed suds, diners can expect a beefed-up wine and spirits program.
“The restaurant will be 40-percent fancier than the taproom,” says Sgro lightheartedly. “It will be a little bit sexier, a place where you can bring a family member from out of town or go on a hot date.”
The full-service (dog-free) restaurant will feature chef Tagliarina’s California-inspired farm-to-table fare. In the kitchen with her will be sous chef Stevi Harris. Together they will craft beer-friendly menus for the restaurant, taproom and second-level event space.
Above the taproom and future restaurant sits a dramatic industrial space with a cathedral ceiling, structural steel beams and exposed brick walls.
“The upstairs was the whole reason Ralph and I fell in love with this building,” Bennet says. “This space was always in our mind for an expansion.”
At 2,400 square feet, the loft-like space lends itself to live entertainment, dinner-and-a-show events, beer dinners, overflow dining and private affairs. The team envisions a 150- to 200-person club on par with the Beachland Ballroom tavern that will attract regional and out-of-state talent.
“We want to play up the live music and brewery vibe,” says Sgro.
But the best new feature of the entire complex might be outside the four walls. Plans call for an elevated wraparound deck off the second-level space that will afford guests unobstructed views of Lake Erie to the north, downtown Cleveland to the east and the passing rail cars directly below. The deck will also will provide cover for taproom guests below.
The goal is to debut the event space in the first quarter of next year.
“I wholeheartedly believe that we’ll have the nicest patio deck in Cleveland overlooking the lake,” says Sgro. “I think for people visiting Cleveland, we will be a place mentioned that you have to go see. I want to provide people an experience; I want them to taste Penny’s artistic approach to food, my artistic approach to beer and have it so people can spend all day here.”
This article appears in Oct 6-19, 2021.
