Local brew-pubs expansion carries some green benefits

After a year of negotiations, planning and setbacks, Jackie O's expansion into the space previously occupied by Skippers Bar and Grill is moving forward.

Owner Art Oestrike said that he's hoping the new section can open next month.

"œI really wanted to open in August and have a private, community opening," Oestrike said. "œI did everything in my power to open before students came back, but things are just taking longer than I expected."

Expanding into the new space will provide many new opportunities for Jackie O's; Oestrike estimated that the new kitchen area is six times the size of the current Jackie O's kitchen, making it possible for them to expand the restaurant and eventually their menu.

Jackie O's brew master Brad Clark said that they are also planning on taking advantage of the space by installing three new beer fermenters.

"We're going to be adding some new equipment, three new fermenters, which will allow me to more than double the amount of beer that I make," Clark said. "For consumers, this means that the beer Jackie O's offers will now always be on tap in either the brewery or the restaurant area, and we're also going to introduce some new types of beer."

Clark said that the expansion of Jackie O's will not only help the brewery keep up with the demands of the community, but will give him an opportunity to have fun creating new beer recipes.

"These new fermenters will bring in different yeast strands; right now we just have one. With the addition of these new tanks essentially I'll be able to make like 20 new beers," Clark said. "I have to figure out which ones I want to make and focus on those recipes. It's going to give me some more freedom to have fun with my job."

While the possibilities following the expansion are exciting, Oestrike acknowledged that the process has faced hurdles. Apart from the necessary cleaning, redesigning and redecorating the Skippers venue to match Jackie O's decor, the project has been slowed down several times while waiting for approvals from the state.

Oestrike said that throughout the whole process, the community has been supportive. He said he believes that the new space will provide a great venue, and that the community's continued support is why he enjoys giving back.

"I'm going to try to instill a basic rule of not going outside of 100-mile radius with (obtaining) the food that we serve," Oestrike said. "There will be a couple of exceptions with things you can't buy here, but I'm really going to try to keep giving back and moving in a local direction."

The owner said that he believes brew-pubs tend to facilitate localness because of the fact that they are not merely a bar, but also a creator of a product themselves.

Many of the ingredients used for Jackie O's craft brews come from the surrounding community.

According to Oestrike, Jackie O's buys honey locally, plus 40 to 60 pounds of fruit a week.

For his seasonal brews, Clark said he enjoys going out to local farms and handpicking the fruits, such as the pumpkins he uses for his Pumpkin Ale from White's Mill. Once the brewing process is complete, the brewery gives back to the community by donating the spent grains for feed for local cattle.

"In the brewing process, you use a lot of grains and once I'm done with that grain, it gets taken to the Lackey family farm where it goes to feed the cattle," Clark said. "Then, those same cattle turn around and become hamburgers for our pub. So, we're able to provide for a third of their diet and at the same time provide local beef for our customers. It's just a nice, sustainable circle."

The expansion will provide more opportunities for Jackie O's to go green outside of buying local products. Oestrike said that he is looking forward to being able to reduce waste production, part of which will occur simply by having space for a dishwasher.

"With our current restaurant, we serve with paper plates, and it bothers me more than anything, but we just didn't have the facilities for a (restaurant-type) dishwasher," Oestrike said. "With the expansion, where the kitchen is like six times the size of the kitchen we're in now, we'll be able to move in that direction."

Because of the big influx in customers that tends to follow the opening of a new restaurant in Athens, Oestrike said that he plans to open the new section of Jackie O's in a series of soft-openings. During this time, the bar will open in the evening a few nights a week without opening the kitchen. After a couple of weeks, he will then open the kitchen for the grand opening. He said that he plans to open in this way to make sure that the opening runs smoothly, and to ensure that no one is disappointed.

"I just want to make sure we understand the workings of it. We have always been a pub without table service, so it's a new creature to me. You don't want to be working out your bugs as you're getting new customers coming in for the first time," Oestrike said. "In the scheme of things, I'm way ready for it. But I want to make sure we get it right."

Of course, Jackie O's will continue to serve as a popular venue for live music.