I wrote at the beginning of the month about the Abbey Pub changing hands, to become the Broken Top Bottle Shop, and by the end of this week (if all goes well) the new beer bar (or Ale Café as they are naming it) should be open.

Last week one of the owners, Diana Fischetti, had left a comment on my beer blog about the new Bottle Shop, with a lot of good details:

The Ale Café will offer a rotating 12 tap selection of craft and specialty beer, along with wine and other beverages, to be paired with delicious, healthy food, such as smoked meats, panini sandwiches, appetizers, soups, salads, as well as awesome vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options (whipped up by Chef Bethlyn Rider). We’ll also have chilled single bottle and canned beer you can purchase from our coolers to drink at Broken Top Bottle Shop or take to-go. We won’t charge you a corking fee on the bottled and canned beer you buy to drink here. And, you can buy your to-go beer as single bottles or cans, mixed-and-matched in any number, 6-packs, and 12-packs. Come on by in early February and taste some great draught beer, have some scrumptious food, and pick up some beer to go!

COMING SOON… the Bottle Shop!!

The Ale Café portion of Broken Top Bottle Shop is only the beginning!! We’ll soon be expanding into the suite next door in order to offer you over 700 varieties of single bottle and canned beer in our retail Bottle Shop. Only Broken Top Bottle Shop & Ale Café will offer this unique combination of tasty food, a variety of draught craft and specialty beer, and a grand selection of bottled and canned beer for on- and off-site consumption.

And this weekend I (and my family) had the chance to visit the new/old location, meet the owners, and get the tour.

I have to say I’m fairly impressed with the overall plan they have laid out for the new venture and the enthusiasm they’re bringing to it. On the one hand, the space was already set up as a beer bar, so they’ve kept much of that the same, with some repainting, a new foot rail running along the bottom of the bar, more artwork for the walls, and so on.

On the other hand, they are revamping the kitchen—adding some equipment, reorganizing for efficiency—and have added an impressive smoker/grill/roaster that will sit on a corner of the patio and offer a whole new level of food than was available before. The menu is going to be vastly expanded, and yes, there will be a focus on vegetarian/vegan options (something that—in general—we’re lacking in Bend).

And of course, the expanded bottle shop is going to be the biggest change: Broken Top will be gradually moving into the old WineStyles space next door, and will be able to offer over 700 different beers (as noted above)—this is going to be huge and once fully realized, may well be the largest single selection in Central Oregon.

There will be a lot more outdoor seating available too, what with both the former Abbey space and the WineStyles space available. Oh, and minors we be allowed I believe until closing, expanding upon the 5pm limit the Abbey was operating under.

They plan to be open by this weekend though that will only be for the beer bar portion. They will be open seven days a week, from 11am to until 10pm, maintaining largely the same hours as the Abbey Pub (though the Abbey was closed on Sundays).

This is definitely something you should be checking out; I know I’m looking forward to heading over there (hopefully this weekend!) and sampling the new menu while drinking some really good beer.