When the sign on the door to the dining room of Quenched and Tempered Brewing Company at 1210 Jackson Street in Toledo was hung, it read “Coming Soon” with the year “2020” written below. After overcoming the odds of trying to open a bar during a global pandemic, Quenched and Tempered decided it was time to update their sign which now reads ‘2020’. According to Alex Drozdowicz of Quenched and Tempered, this was their smart way of coping with the uncertainty of the past 2 years.
“We were originally hoping to open in 2020,” Alex said. “Now we just put an ‘s’ on it. It was a way for us to laugh at ourselves. We have set many dates, this one seems achievable.
Blocked by the pandemic
Quenched and Tempered originally signed their construction lease in 2019. Unfortunately, there was no way for them to know what was going to happen in early 2020.
“If we had known what was going to happen, we would still have done this, but we would have done it differently,” Ali Drozdowicz of Quenched and Tempered said. “Now we’re just chasing and trying to catch up.”
With the challenges of opening a bar during a pandemic, Quenched and Tempered had to pivot, choosing to focus on canning and distributing their beers. The brewery’s beer offerings run the gamut of styles, from their New England IPA One-Legged Brewer to Oaty McOatface which is their oatmeal stout. According to Alex Drozdowicz, this helped keep the momentum going in the dining room.
“Keeping our brewing facility running was really important to us,” Alex said. “We figured that if we couldn’t get our bar going, we would need the brewing facility to keep us afloat. And with restaurants closing, canning was pretty much all we could do, so we focused our energy there.
And while canning helped grow and build awareness of their brand in the greater Toledo area, Quenched and Tempered continued to focus on its tasting room. According to David Sankovich of Quenched and Tempered, they kept moving forward, albeit at a much slower pace than they had anticipated.
“We’re getting to the point where we’re done with almost everything we can control,” Sankovich said. “We will soon be waiting for permits and inspections which will be the last step before we can start pouring pints. It’s actually hard for us to believe that we’re finally getting to this point.
Strengthening Toledo’s Brewing Scene
The Jackson Street location of Quenched and Tempered has the unique opportunity to help create connections/bridges between the different downtown neighborhoods. According to Sankovich, the location immediately appealed.
“We’re a little off the beaten path, but not out of the way,” Sankovich said. “The city was really excited about our opening as a way to connect downtown, the warehouse district and the ballpark.”
The other benefit of opening their downtown location, according to Alex Drozdowicz, is being able to add another brewery to the downtown brewing community.
“Having multiple breweries downtown helps us all,” Drozdowicz said. “The breweries of Toledo form a close-knit community. They all seem to recognize and believe that having brewery clusters will make us stronger. It is not a competition. »
To learn more
Quenched and Tempered has ambitious plans for their tavern. In the future, they plan to add a beer garden and a kitchen. In the meantime, Quenched and Tempered will use local food trucks to supplement their handcrafted libations. To follow the progress of Quenched and Tempered, go to quenchedandtempered.com. Stay tuned for an opening date in the near future!
