I had a chance to stop up and visit Mark Lehman and Chris Miller from Breaker Brewing Company today at their new location in Wilkes-Barre Twp. There are a few hurdles yet to cross, but I’m excited to report the new property has amazing potential and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
If you haven’t been following along, Mark & Chris purchased the former St Josephs Monastery location on Northampton St in Wilkes-Barre Twp. in early June. The property includes two buildings…a huge brick structure that used to be the school building and an even larger sprawling building that used to house the monastery and church facilities. The property also includes a little over 2.5 acres of land, three entrances and several parking lots that will easily accommodate over 75 cars.
We toured every inch of the facility today, and it is not only huge, but the possibilities are endless. The former school building (shown above with Chris & Mark and at right with the Breaker Brewing delivery truck), will house the brewing operations. Several former classrooms on the 1st and 2nd floors will be converted for the actual working brewery portion of the operation.
As you can see in the photo at left, there is much work to be done to convert a former school building into brewing space, but again the potential is amazing. There certainly will be no shortage of usable space and storage areas once it’s all sorted out and the layout is perfect for brewing.
If things progress as planned, a small portion of the 2nd building will likely house a brewpub and sampling/growler room. The most likely location for this is the room shown at right, and I can say the space is perfect for a brewpub. Wide open spaces and great light will make for a great location to enjoy a Breaker Brewing beer.
As I mentioned above there are still a few hurdles to cross and a considerable amount of cleanup and work to be done, but I can’t tell you how amazed I was at the amount of space Mark & Chris have to work with. I can also say that I’m not going way out on a limb when I say that Breaker Brewing’s new location will quickly become a beer-lovers destination once it is all built out.
As the guys move forward, I’ll be sure to visit again (and again, and again) to keep you all informed of their progress. This is a wonderful thing for craft beer lovers in NEPA and I can’t wait to see it all come together. Cheers to Mark & Chris and all of the Breaker Brewing Family members for starting this new and exciting venture.
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