Firehouse Brew Co. is a unique experience
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[On May 5th, at 4:00 p.m., the hard work and determination of three women payed off. It was at this time that Jane Hicks, Martha Hunter and Alexandra Pokrzywinski opened the Firehouse Brew Co. for business. All three are part owners of the new restaurant that is located in the old firehouse building in Steeleville, Illinois.
When they purchased the building in June of 2008, they knew it would take hard work to turn the building into what they wanted it to be. There were holes in the roof and all the flooring needed to be redone. Pretty much everything needed to be taken apart and the building needed to be gutted. David Knop had a big hand in the gutting of the building and was also helped by volunteers. Once the building was emptied out, it looked pretty sparce. Jane Hicks stated, "It was a shell." The entire gutting and rebuilding job was self-contracted. Along with the remodeling of interior and exterior of the building, a beautiful new patio was put in. The hard work by everybody showed the dedication of Hicks, Hunter and Pokrzywinski, as well as the town of Steeleville. "We love this building," said Hicks.
Despite some skepticism from the bank and the mayor, and being against the odds of a recession, Hicks, Hunter and Pokrzywinski were able to open the restaurant on May 5th with a special limited menu for Cinco De Mayo. A lot of the thanks for this goes to the people that helped them with all the hard work on the building and the great support that they received from the town of Steeleville.
The restaurant currently has fourteen employees. "It shows that you can do what you want, and give jobs back to the community," said Hicks.
Hicks described the restaurant as a Bistro. Among the items on their menu, they serve wine, and imported and domestic beers. They also serve espresso coffees, with beans imported from South America, cappuccinos and coffee. They offer gourmet soups, salads, sandwiches and appetizers. The also have fresh pastries and muffins. They are adding to the menu all the time and really want the restaurant to have a friendly atmosphere, but also to be a place where someone could sit back and have a beer, according to Hicks.
The restaurant is not just a place to eat at, though. They also hold private parties there and have already held a graduation party and a baby shower. Hicks said, "We want to expand facilities for private parties." Hicks also said that they plan to get out a one month schedule with different events on it for each month. Some of the events that they plan to have is music, a coffee and wine club, and also a time for wine tastings.
It is not just the local community that is coming to the restaurant either, instead there are also people coming from other towns. According to Hicks there have been people who have come to eat from Missouri and up to fifty miles away from the restaurant. So what draws the people from out of town to come visit the Firehouse Brew Co. in Steeleville. It could be the friendly atmosphere or the taste of the food, or it could be something more. Hicks gave an example of an instance that exemplifies this. She said that one time she went to apologize to some customers because it was taking awhile to get their food to them. Instead of being angry about it, though, the customers did not really even realize it because of the good time they were having just being there. Hunter echoes this and said, "It's beyond the meal; its an experience. Once they have it, they'll want to come back."
The restaurants interior design has a display of a fireman's clothes and gear. It can create the feeling of a firehouse and cause the customers to think of how the firehouse looked before it was a restaurant. Come out and take in the experience. The Firehouse Brew Co. is located at 206 N. Sparta St. in Steeleville, IL, and is open Monday-Saturday starting at 7:00 a.m. They are closed on Sundays. For questions or more information about private parties call the restaurant at 618-965-9111.
Hunter said, "It is one of the most unique restaurants in Southern Illinois, due to the fact that it is a restored 1941 firehouse. There is a special ambiance here that people must come to, to fully understand."