Some big plans are brewing in Bradford.
Bradford City officials are working with a local developer to transform 104 Chestnut St. into a brew pub, which is slated to be open later this year or in 2018.
In the meantime, across the city, Hunters Family Restaurant is planning to open up in the current location of Gam Gam’s Diner at 89 Main St. and Gam Gam’s Diner will be relocating to the former location of Madison’s Neighborhood Eatery at 585 South Ave. in Bradford Township –– both this year.
“We are very much looking forward to bringing a destination-type business [microbrewery] that seems to becoming a staple in many small urban communities such as Bradford,” said Sara Andrews, executive director of Office of Economic and Community Development of Bradford City, of the planned microbrewery that involves local developer Todd Hennard.
In late May, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development announced the city would be receiving a $500,000 Keystone Communities Development Grant award, which would partly be used for the rehabilitation and restoration of a commercial structure. In this case, that’s the planned location of the microbrewery planned near the Comfort Inn, The Chestnut Feedery and the Bradford Mennonite Church in the city’s Second Ward.
“A portion of the Keystone Communities grant we received last week will be used to renovate the building,” Andrews said. “The investment of grant funds is due to the scope of work and cost to renovate the building needed to be undertaken in order to attract private development interest in the building.”
The remainder of that funding would be put toward the construction of two single-story homes and new sidewalks, curbing, signage and lighting on Congress Place.
What’s more, Andrews said, the developer will be putting a significant number of dollars into building renovations, the purchase of equipment and start-up operational expenses.
For quite awhile, Andrews said officials have been interested in bringing a microbrewery to the city, and she called the chance to have local entrepreneurs invest and create jobs in the Second Ward Neighborhood exciting.
“I think the Bradford community will be pleased with what our new local brew pub has to offer and we are looking forward to it opening sometime later this year or in 2018,” Andrews said.
Contacted Friday, Hennard said it was too early to comment on the project. Hennard is a well-known name in the Bradford area. He has several businesses in the city, including Beefeaters, Main Street Moviehouse, Main Street Mercantile, A Slice of the 80s and Hennard Construction.
For the Hunters Family Restaurant, the menu is expected to include meat from alligator, alpaca, antelope, armadillo, ostrich, otter, peacock, squirrel, wild goat, wild pigeon and several other kinds of meat. Hunters Family Restaurant would also have New York steak, porterhouse steak, ribeye steak, seafood and other items. There’ll also be ostrich eggs for breakfast alongside chicken eggs, Curtis Howard said. The meat will be purchased and be United States Department of Agriculture approved.
Plans call for the restaurant to be open by the end of July and be operated by Curtis Howard of Bradford and his brother Daniel Howard. Interviews for employment at the restaurant are being held starting at noon June 6 at the current location of Gam Gam’s Diner.
For years, Curtis Howard said he has dreamed of opening an establishment, and for his whole life he said he has hunted and fished.
For more information about the Hunters Family Restaurant, see http://www.huntersfamilyrestaurant.com or call Curtis Howard at 814-596-3081.
Gam Gam’s Diner owner Andrew Kloss said the restaurant will open at the new location July 1. The current space has never been good for a fried-chicken restaurant, and there’s limited parking, he said. Over the years, the restaurant space has changed several hands.
At the Bradford Township restaurant, he said he is planning to serve breakfast food as well as offer ice cream, including homemade.
