You might remember earlier this month I wrote about how Bend’s Abbey Pub was changing, to become the Broken Top Bottle Shop & Ale Café; this past week one of the owners commented on the blog with details on the new beer bar, and this weekend I (along with my wife and kids) was able to visit, meet the owners and get a pre-opening tour.

Here are the details from the comments:

Broken Top Bottle Shop & Ale Café will be opening our Ale Café in early February!!! (Bottle Shop coming soon thereafter!)

The Ale Café will offer a rotating 12 tap selection of craft and specialty beer, along with wine and other beverages, to be paired with delicious, healthy food, such as smoked meats, panini sandwiches, appetizers, soups, salads, as well as awesome vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options (whipped up by Chef Bethlyn Rider). We’ll also have chilled single bottle and canned beer you can purchase from our coolers to drink at Broken Top Bottle Shop or take to-go. We won’t charge you a corking fee on the bottled and canned beer you buy to drink here. And, you can buy your to-go beer as single bottles or cans, mixed-and-matched in any number, 6-packs, and 12-packs. Come on by in early February and taste some great draught beer, have some scrumptious food, and pick up some beer to go!

COMING SOON… the Bottle Shop!!

The Ale Café portion of Broken Top Bottle Shop is only the beginning!! We’ll soon be expanding into the suite next door in order to offer you over 700 varieties of single bottle and canned beer in our retail Bottle Shop. Only Broken Top Bottle Shop & Ale Café will offer this unique combination of tasty food, a variety of draught craft and specialty beer, and a grand selection of bottled and canned beer for on- and off-site consumption.

After visiting on Saturday, I have to say I’m fairly impressed with the overall plan they have laid out for the new venture and the enthusiasm the new owners are bringing to the shop/beer bar. On the one hand, the space was already set up as a beer bar, so they’ve kept much of that the same, with some repainting, a new foot rail running along the bottom of the bar, more artwork for the walls, and so on.

On the other hand, they are revamping the kitchen—adding some equipment, reorganizing for efficiency—and have added an impressive smoker/grill/roaster that will sit on a corner of the patio and offer a whole new level of food than was available before. The menu is going to be vastly expanded, and yes, there will be a focus on vegetarian/vegan options (something that—in general—Bend is largely lacking).

And of course, the expanded bottle shop is going to be the biggest change: Broken Top will be gradually moving into the space next door, which previously hosted a wine shop and tasting room, and will be able to offer over 700 different beers (as noted above)—this is going to be huge and once fully realized, may well be the largest single selection in Central Oregon. (The Brew Shop currently has at least 500 different beers, and while I don’t know specific numbers both Whole Foods and Newport Avenue Market in Bend have fantastic beer selections as well.)

They plan to be open by this weekend (yes, the first weekend in February) though that will only be for the beer bar portion. They will be open seven days a week, from 11am to until 10pm, maintaining largely the same hours as the Abbey Pub (though the Abbey was closed on Sundays).

After meeting and chatting with the owners I can say I’m fairly excited to see the new place open: they are extremely nice and accommodating, and their enthusiasm for Bend and beer is infectious. I’m looking forward to heading over there (hopefully this weekend!) and sampling the new menu while drinking some really good beer.