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As part of Project Light Switch, Alan Glazen and his team have acquired multiple properties in North Collinwood’s Waterloo District with the goal of simultaneously opening a critical mass of new bars and restaurants. Those properties include the Harbour Pub, Key Bank building, Chloe’s Kitchen Diner and the Slovenian Workman’s Home, which Glazen and partners Randy Kelly and Linda Syrek will operate themselves.

That property boasts a bar and four indoor bocce courts, but the team still hadn’t ironed out the details of the concept they intend to run with.

“We knew we wanted to operate the old Slovenian hall ourselves — it’s another hidden gem to polish up,” Glazen explains. “But we really didn’t know what we were going to do with the space other than open a bar with bocce.”

After meeting with the owners of a small local brewery (the name of which is being kept under wraps for now), a collaboration was born. Glazen and his team would purchase and install brewery equipment, while the brewer would produce recipes, operate the equipment and brew the beer on site. The original beers produced will be in the vein of traditional Eastern European beers, such as pilsners and pale lagers, which would be sold at the Hall and at ABC and XYZ taverns.

“The cool part of this is the collaborative effort between parties to make this happen,” Glazen adds. “It’s very innovative. We’ll be able to brew and sell our own craft beer without having to become brewmasters. Randy, Linda and I are really excited about this.”

The latest plan is for all of the new operations to open this coming summer.

This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2013.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.

4 replies on “Glazen Partners with Local Brewer to Bring Brewery to Waterloo”

  2. The Slovenians call the game “balinca” (bah-leen-sah); it’s the Italians who call it bocce. But in any case, I look forward to the development in our neighborhood – especially the brewery!!

  4. The brewery will be in the old bowling alley, which is adjacent to the bar. All that’s left of the bowling is the lanes. Even the gutters are gone! This is a micro operation. There will be no structural changes of any sort, and as promised, we will preserve this vital member of the neighborhood.

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