Last year, Pittsburgher’s ears perked up at the news that a “brewery located inside of a movie theater” was in the works in the McKees Rocks area. The collaboration – between Abjuration Brewing and Parkway Theater – has been heavily anticipated since the fateful day this plan was announced.
The city will be happy to hear that the boozy makeover of the Parkway Theater is well underway, with plans to open before the end of the summer.
Once renovations are complete, the building will become a space unlike any other – not only in the city of Pittsburgh, but across the country as well.
“It’s actually two different businesses within the building,” says Abjuration Brewing owner Dave Hallam. “One side is the Abjuration, and the other side is the Parkway Theater.”
While Abjuration team has been plotting the opening of their official brewery space, Aaron Stubna, owner of the Parkway Theater, has been hard at work renovating the theater portion of the building. In addition to an enclosed, soundproof movie theater, the Parkway will also have a lounge space called the “Film Lounge,” with a projection tv and bar, serving other drink options like wine and mixed drinks.
Though separate, the businesses will fluidly share the space. There will be certain restrictions on where drinks can go (thank you, PLCB), but the goal is that the fresh beer from Abjuration Brewing will be able to be brought into the Parkway Theater portion of the building.
Additionally, Abjuration Brewing will have its own tap room.
“We have our own, different seating area. That is the fun part we are working on now. I don’t want to give too much away, but it is very minimalistic, very scientific, with dark colors,” says Hallam.
Hallam also confides that they plan to serve their beer in beaker glasses, from small samplers to full-sized beaker pints.
Abjuration Brewing has had a “scientific” theme since the beginning. The logo looks like two beaker glasses, and Hallam, and his co-owner Tom Glover, emphasize the actual brewing portion of the craft beer process. All of their recipes are open sourced on the internet, and each beer is named with a “version number,” to show where the beer is in its evolutionary process.
“We really liked drinking different beers, and I have noticed that a lot of people want to try something new,” says Hallam. “Basically, we will try to do new beers all the time. You will see ones that you have seen before, but we won’t have any core beers. If people keep asking about a certain drink, we will brew it again.”
Some of Abjuration’s beers (with recipes that are available online) include an American Black Ale, a Cashew Quad (a Belgian quad with raw defatted cashews added to the mash), and a Mango Triple IPA. Abjuration has been serving these unique beers at festivals and events around the city in anticipation of their opening, and they have already developed a devoted following.
In terms of food, the brewery plans to bring in a collection of local food trucks.
The Parkway Theater is located on Broadway Avenue in McKees Rocks, just around the block from Mancini’s Bakery. Both Abjuration Brewing and the Parkway Theater can be followed on Facebook for up to date information on their opening process.
Abjuration Brewing (644 Broadway Avenue, McKees Rocks)
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