WATERTOWN — Skewed Brewing Co., a brewpub and restaurant located near the entrance of the Regal Cinema at Salmon Run Mall, opened its doors last October and generated $360,000 in revenue in its first three months. Ryan Chaif, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife Cheryl Chaif, and business partner Mark Crandall, said the […]
WATERTOWN — Skewed Brewing Co., a brewpub and restaurant located near the entrance of the Regal Cinema at Salmon Run Mall, opened its doors last October and generated $360,000 in revenue in its first three months.
Ryan Chaif, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife Cheryl Chaif, and business partner Mark Crandall, said the start exceeded his expectations.
The owners are projecting Skewed Brewing will generate $1.5 million in revenue in 2014. Chaif says the brewpub will achieve this goal by “paying attention to the marketing, adjusting accordingly, and giving customers what they want.”
Skewed Brewing’s eclectic menu items include its signature microbrews, self-build cocktails, house-made skewed beer mustard used on sandwiches, and burger bacon jam. The eatery recently unveiled its winter menu, adding dishes such as Korean Pork Pops and Haddock Toscana. And now, the business has begun brewing craft beers on-premise, starting with a Pale Ale and a Baltic Porter, Chaif says.
The 2,400-square foot eatery, which seats about 90 patrons and currently has 48 beers on tap, always welcomes hungry diners after they finish a long movie at Regal Salmon Run. Chaif says big movie releases increase traffic to Skewed Brewing. Chaif hopes to further capitalize on movies by naming his brews after movie titles.
What’s in a name? Chaif says the inspiration for “Skewed Brewing” came from the idea that doing something out of the norm is skewed and “It also comes from the math term for when a graph shows skewed distribution, or when something is not the norm,” he notes. Crandall designed the interior of the 40-foot long stainless steel bar inside the restaurant.
The owners helped finance their venture though New York Business Development Corporation (NYBDC) funding, and personal savings, Chaif says. But he declined to disclose dollar amounts.
Part of the personal savings comes from the first venture of the Chaifs and Crandall — The Hops Spot, which opened in June 2011 in Sackets Harbor. Chaif and Crandall had tried “a lot of different beers” to select the most suitable products for the Hops Spot. Then the two partners decided to make their own home-style micro-brews.
The house-made beer was at first only served on Sunday. Its popularity, however, made it a daily offer at the bar and finally drove the Chaifs and Crandall to open Skewed Brewing.
According to Chaif, Skewed Brewing’s target audience is generally 25 to 50 years old. And Chaif doesn’t think his two restaurants are competing with each other since “They are similar, but different,” he says, noting that the smaller Hops Spot generally draws a younger crowd.
Before starting the Hops Spot, Chaif had spent two years in South Korea teaching English and travelled all over Asia. Prior to his trip to the Far East, he worked in business sales.
Chaif’s plan for the future is to start an off-site brewery in five years to support his two eateries and other local restaurants.
Bette & Cring Construction Group, which is headquartered in Latham and has an office in Watertown, handled the construction of the Skewed Brewing as general contractor.
Skewed Brewing currently employs 43 people — a mix of 8 full time and 35 part time, Chaif says.
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