An Ybor City property that’s housed several nightclubs through the years is getting a fresh start as a brewery and restaurant.
Zydeco Brew Werks, the 13,000-square-foot, two-story project underway at 1902 E. Seventh Ave., has been in the works since December 2015, when partner J. Paul Pepin started demo. As Pepin tells it, he then took six months to figure out what to do with the gutted building, arguably best known for its time as the controversial Empire — and how.
Some elements were restored, including much of the interior’s original brick, while others were rethought. The initial idea was to have an open kitchen on the first floor, for example — where the 65-degree barrel room is now planned — until Pepin switched gears after talking with the guys at Green Bench Brewing Co. and Angry Chair Brewing; he says they advised him to make room for the possibility of production expansion down the line.
But the driving force of Zydeco — the beer — remains the same.
“We are a brewery first and foremost,” said Pepin, whose family is behind Tampa’s Pepin Distributing Company. “We just happen to have a restaurant.”
J. Paul’s been around craft beer for a decade. His job at the distributorship was to tour around the country, attending events like the Great American Beer Festival and Brewers Association Craft Brewers Conference, and bring the best craft brands to Florida for the Anheuser-Busch network. According to Pepin, he sold out in ’93, but continues to consult for the company on the craft side. He’ll officially be out, he says, probably next year.
Paul Rutherford, the seasoned, award-winning brewer at Zydeco, says he and Pepin have “a lot of trust” between them. The duo met through Rutherford’s good friend — Casey Hughes of Coppertail Brewing Co. — and although the out-of-towner first joined the new brewery and restaurant’s team as a consultant, he’s moved down to Ybor from Philadelphia to oversee the 10-barrel brewhouse.
“The agreement’s always been that creative control in the brewery is really driven by me,” Rutherford said, “and he’s really stood by that.”
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant is where Rutherford, a graduate of Chicago’s Siebel Institute of Technology, had spent his brewing career thus far. In 2004, he started at the Delaware-founded brewpub chain in the Philly area and went on to open four locations as head brewer — a bonus for Zydeco, which will have a beer component to the food (more on that later) and an emphasis on pairings.
“I’ve always worked in brewpubs, and I worked in kitchens for 10 years before that, so I just like talking about flavors and ingredients,” he said. “Being able to talk about how they work together and educating the staff and educating the customers makes it fun.”
The historic Tampa district’s fourth brewery aims to start with four core beers — expect the easy-drinking Ybor Premium (similar to Munich Helles) and Dortmunder, since classic German lagers are among Rutherford’s favorite styles — as well as always offer rotating seasonals. Mostly, the barrel-aged program is dedicated to bottle releases (the barrel room has serious plans for bourbon, white wine and tequila barrels) — though a small amount will make a tapped appearance, including a bourbon barrel-aged Russian imperial stout served on nitro.
As for patrons who aren’t big on beer, they can look forward to three bars — two in the downstairs tasting room, one on the second floor — with wine, specialty cocktails, and an extensive Scotch and bourbon selection, alongside eight to 12 taps of house beer. The variety ups Zydeco’s crowd-pleasing appeal, and also its identity as almost like an incubator for future craft-beer drinkers. There’s a way to educate liquor, wine and domestic-beer sippers about the category and train their palates, as Pepin puts it, while making them feel like they’re a part of the craft beer community.
“That’s what I think Zydeco could bring to the table,” he added. “We have the liquor and we have the wine, but while you’re here, we want you to try craft beer. Maybe you’ll convert back over, or if you haven’t tried craft beer, maybe you’ll like it enough to stay on our side of the boat.”
But what else is on that second floor? The restaurant portion of Zydeco, concentrating on dishes that travelers flock to New Orleans for year-round. Its name, after all, pays homage to the vibrant musical tradition of southwest Louisiana. While the full menu will be available upstairs (think étouffée and shrimp and grits), guests can order items such as pizza and flatbreads in the taproom.
“There’s nothing closer to Bourbon Street anywhere in the country than Seventh Avenue. The street lamps are the same, the architecture is the same, and we even brought the lights inside,” said Pepin, turning to an Ybor-style light pole in the tasting room during CL’s recent visit.
A young, enthusiastic chef, Stevie Gonzalez, is set to lead the kitchen. Pepin says Gonzalez’s family owns Tampa-based Catering by the Family, and that he previously spent four years in NOLA working with the Brennan family (of Commander’s Palace and Tableau fame).
The brewery and restaurant has the ability to do catering, and weddings are a possibility on the second floor, too. However, the balcony overlooking Seventh Ave. is a draw in itself — think of the street parades, sunsets and people-watching possibilities.
With a capacity of somewhere around 450 seats, Zydeco is closer to completion, but the brewer and the partner have vowed to open when they’re good and ready. What’s in store downstairs will launch before the restaurant, which is “phase two.”
“We want our staff trained, we want our chef dialed in,” Pepin said. “You got one chance to make a first impression.”
This article appears in Jan 11-18, 2018.