Anniston, Alabama will get their first taste of brewpub culture later this spring when Cheaha Brewing Company (1208 Walnut Avenue) opens its doors in the old L&N Freight Train Station in the heart of downtown.
Cheaha Brewing, the brainchild of Rodney Snider, Kimberly Schneider, and Rick Okin, will be a wonderful centerpiece to the revitalization project currently underway in the city of Anniston. Once the construction and renovations are complete, Cheaha Brewing will breathe new life into the L&N Train Station, an area landmark. Rodney Snider, CEO of Cheaha Brewing Company and an Anniston resident, is passionate about combining his love for his home town with amazing craft beer.
“We are extremely excited to open our doors in Anniston, especially in such a special landmark building in the middle of the revitalization downtown. We want to provide a warm and welcome environment where people will feel at home and enjoy our artisan, hand-crafted beer. Too, developing relationships with our customers and fellow business owners as we participate in the community’s overall vision for Anniston and the surrounding area is very important to us", Snider says.
The focus of the brewpub will be to serve fine beer hand crafted on-site along with high quality meats and produce that will be locally sourced. Once the brewpub is established, specials will be created to show how beautifully beer pairs with amazing foods. The goal of the owners is to be unlike any other pub style restaurant that has ever existed in the city of Anniston.
Although this is a lot for Anniston residents to get excited about, there is still much to be done in completing the brewpub. The current plan is for Cheaha Brewing to open their doors in a limited capacity by mid-March so that residents can stop by to enjoy coffee and light breakfast items, meet the people behind the operation and view the progress as the brewing equipment is installed. After the equipment is fully installed and tested, the brewpub will run at full steam by adding evening hours hopefully by late spring.
This is great news for the city of Anniston and Calhoun County who has recently been embracing and showing a great deal of support for craft beer culture. The county already has Patriot Joe's Ale which currently has a brewpub agreement with Heroes American Grille in the Jacksonville/Weaver area of Alabama Highway 21. Area restaurants have also been joining in by replacing taps that used to pour lagers from large commercial breweries with fine, Alabama brewed craft beer. Even grocery stores, liquor stores and gas stations are expanding their shelving and cooler space to accommodate the growing demand for quality craft beer. This seems like the perfect time for Cheaha Brewing to open and provide the people of this area with a true craft beer experience that actually focuses on the beer and its relation to food. These are exciting times for Calhoun County, and I cannot wait to see what Cheaha Brewing Company adds later this spring. Prost!
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