8-29-2020 12:43am

Warped Wing To Open A Springboro Location On Saturday

Rick Amburgey Neighbor

The Warped Wing Barrel Room and Smokery will open on Saturday morning at the corner of State Route 73 and State Route 741. Nick Bowman, co-founder and vice-president of sales and marketing, said people can expect to see some of the same features and decor that can be found in the downtown Dayton location. "They can also expect to see some new things that we have added that are specific to this location, The Barrel Room and Smokery,” he said.

One noticeable difference is the size of the location. Bowman said the Springboro location have a large, expansive outdoor biergarten. It is a 50-person event space that will be initially used as additional seating to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines instead of hosting private events. The biergarten area will be dog-friendly. “We know a lot of our customers love their furry friends,” Bowman said, adding that both the dogs and their human companions will need to make sure they are well-behaved.

Bowman said people will also be able to get some peeks at the new pilot brewery and see some barrels that they are aging there. People will also be able to get a glimpse into their distribution business and see some cans and kegs. "This is a large scale-facility so there is a lot to see and a lot to experience," Bowman said.

There will be 24 taps at the Springboro location and Bowman said about 18 of those are reserved for Warped Wing's beers. The other six will be guest taps from other local breweries. Bowman said they will have a beer from the Crooked Handle Brewing Company in Springboro. They will also have cider and house-made craft sodas.

Customers who have visited Warped Wing’s location in downtown Dayton will recognize some of the beers offered in Springboro, but there will be some surprises. "We have some new ones that we have been holding back special for this opening,” Bowman said. He said his partner John Haggerty has been working on the new pilot brewery system and it close to being ready.

Bowman said their goal is to have some of same beers as the Dayton location, but they also want each location to have some beers that are specific to each location. "We want to motivate customers to come to both,” he said. The pilot brewery will give them the ability to do some very small batch limited-run beers and customers will likely find one or two new beers when they come back.

Bowman said they are a few weeks away from releasing their bottle menu. He explained that this is a library of mostly barrel-aged beers they have been holding onto, which includes some 2015 vintages. Customers will be able to pick out a vintage from library and the beer cicerone will go to the cooler and pick the beer out for them. The cicerone would then get the beer to the proper serving temperature before presenting the beer to the customer with the proper stemware.

Customers will also have option to buy beer to take home. Bowman said they will have six packs to go and bottle releases. He said they will also sell kegs. “You would be surprised that there are a lot of people out there with basement bars, man caves or she-sheds and they have the proper dispensing equipment,” Bowman said.

Bowman said Erin O’Neill, the general manager and culinary director, has put together an unique eclectic menu. Bowman said some of the marquee items of note are the ahi tuna nachos, the smoked brisket sandwich and the smoked bologna sandwich to which people can add a fried egg. The menu will also have smoked hot dogs and smoked chicken wings.

One of our the Smokery’s signature items is the bison burger. Customers will be able to order as a full-sized burger and also offered as bison sliders. “We’ve been getting a lot of rave remarks on that,” Bowman said. There are also salads and items that aren’t smoked on the menu because they recognize that not everyone likes smoked foods. “It’s a pretty exciting menu and I think it’s different that what’s out there…,” he said, adding that they don’t want to replicate what is out there.

Even though the Warped Wing Barrel Room and Smokery offers a wide selection of food, Bowman said he doesn’t classify Springboro location as a restaurant. “I would say that we are a brewery and we feel like we are serving world-class beers and now we have some world-class food to match the qualities of the beers,” he said.

There may be a wait for people to get a table. Bowman said they are asking people to be kinds and patient with their staff He said they are going to try to get everybody in and give customers the best overall brewery experience in Ohio. They will be utilizing the WhatsApp to take people’s names and text them when the table is ready.

Bowman said they have had a couple of soft openings with their team, their families, investors and contractors. "So far, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive," Bowman said.

Bowman, who has ties to Springboro, said they had talked about the communities where they might want to expand, and Springboro was at the top of the list. He said there was a lot of growth in the area and the demographic was in the sweet spot. Another thing that they liked about Springboro was its proximity to Cincinnati. "We feel like Springboro is a key market that will bring people from south to come visit us and explore Springboro in general, not just Warped Wing, but bring more people to the area to see what Springboro has to offer," Bowman said.

Bowman said some of the things that Springboro has to offer includes a historic downtown area, as well as lots of other great bars and restaurants. "It just made sense on a lot of different levels. That's why we are here and we are very excited to be here, he said, adding that the city has been very welcoming. "The have really made the decision easy. They kind of welcomed us with open arms, they trusted us,” he said. “ I hope what they have experienced so far has validated their trust in bringing us to such a marquee development like Wright Station."

Warped Wing Barrel House and Smokery is located at 25 Wright Station Way in Springboro. It is open between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily. After the Ohio Department of Health's order regarding the curfew of beer sales, they will stay open until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights.