Greenwich Brewing Co: Affordable, Family-Friendly Restaurant on Greenwich Ave

Friday is the long-anticipated grand opening of Greenwich Brewing Company at 109 Greenwich Avenue.

At a preview evening on Thursday, the reimagined second floor space that seats 52 and has entrances from both Greenwich Avenue and the back via the municipal parking lot, the owners shared their exciting, but simple concept.

The menu features smash burgers, wings, salads and Nashville Hot Chicken – which is gluten-free – and has the goal of being affordable for families.

The King of the Coop section of the menu features The Hen, The Dirty Bird, The OG , “Tender Box” with fries, pickles and choice of sauce, “It’s a Wrap,” and the “Ranch Slaw Bowl.”

More fun, there is a seasoning heat hierarchy:

“Country,” with salt pepper and good country love, “Biddy,” with all flavor and no heat, “Midway,” which is a solid medium heat, “Nashville hot,” which is GBC’s signature heat, and “Coop’s Fury,” which offers a blend of Nashville hot and Habenaro powder.

“The town needed something like this. We can’t take our families out in this town for less than $200. So, when we were creating our menu, our goal was to be able to have a family of five come to dinner here for under $100.” – Randy Kemka

But the owners are quite proud of the beer they brew themselves.

General Manager James Isgro explained that all the restaurant partners are local Greenwich families.

“They felt they were tired of going out with their families of five and spending hundreds of dollars to eat dinner,” Isgro said. “But if you look at our menu, only two items have a 2 in front of them. Our goal was to have an affordable family-friendly place with excellent food.”

One of the owners, Randy Kemka, who has lived in Greenwich 25 years, said his wife is  Jenn Mertz whose family has been in town for generations.

“The town needed something like this. We can’t take our families out in this town for less than $200,” Kemka said. “So, when we were creating our menu, our goal was to be able to have a family of five come to dinner here for under $100.”

However, Kemka said, first and foremost, “We take our beer very seriously.”

He explained the GBC menu features four beers: Connecticut Lager, Cardinal Red (a classic red ale), Hop Anchor IPA and Hazy Buoy IPA.

GBC branding features three distinct trademarks: the “G,” the hop crown, and the hop anchor.

“We’re also something of a teaching brand because when you see ‘Greenwich Brewing Company’ and the nautical flags underneath, most people don’t realize that the flags spell out Greenwich Brewing Company,” Kemka said. “It’s a fun conversation point.”

In addition to beer, the drinks menu features hard fruit juices made with real fruit instead of essence. Options include, our favorite, the “Painkiller,” made with pineapple, tangerine and coconut.”

Other options include Blackberry Lemonade, Peach Passionfruit and “Triple Beery” with strawberry, raspberry and blackberry.

Of course there are non-alcoholic beverages including soda and a variety of juices.

Greenwich Brewing Company is located at 109 Greenwich Ave in Greenwich.
Tel. (203) 485-0400