HalfCut opens Friday in Over-the-Rhine
HalfCut Beer Cafe, the new craft beer cafe at 1128 Walnut St. in Over-the-Rhine, starts pouring Friday.
Childhood friends Jack Heekin and Tom O'Brian – the pair who launched the Pedal Wagon, a 15-seat pedal-powered bike that can be reserved for pub crawls, birthday parties and other events, two years ago – are behind the venture.
What sets HalfCut apart from a typical bar is its ordering and checkout process. It's a linear system, much like you'd find at a coffee shop. Customers start by talking with a "guide" or "beerista," who asks about the types of beers they like or don't like. The guide then makes recommendations from among HalfCut's 16 taps -- many of which are local or regional brews -- marking the customer's choice on a piece of paper that he or she takes to the checkout.
"We want to give people an option to try different beers from across the country and learn about what the brewers are trying to accomplish," Heekin said. "They're pushing the limits of flavor and even texture."
Beer offerings range from mild, light options for the craft beer novice to hoppier brews.
Beer can be ordered to drink in, by the pint or as a flight, or to go in 32- and 64-ounce growlers.
Another to-go option is a "mix six" pack of bottles or cans, which are selected from 26 options. A to-go beer window will serve customers on 12th Street – it's the former Lucy Blue pizza window.
HalfCut's system uses carbon dioxide to push oxygen out of the growler, the beer stays fresher and has less foam, Heekin said, noting that growlers keep for 10 to 14 days, unopened.
HalfCut showcases the original brick in the 1884 building. One wall is covered by a 20-foot mural, designed to have the look of a "ghost sign," that pays homage to the beer-making process.
Local artist Keith Neltner of Neltner Small Batch, which also did HalfCut's branding, created the mural. It includes the phrase "Welcome to what we found over the mountain," a reference to how Heekin and O'Brian came up with the idea for the beer cafe.
The duo took a month-long cross-country road trip, traveling 6,429 miles and stopping at different bars, growler shops, restaurants and coffee shops, to develop a concept that they thought would translate well here. (They refer to "going over the mountain" to find the idea and the beers to serve; that concept also inspired HalfCut's symbol, a goat.)
Another wall has art themed around traveling and exploring, another nod to Heekin and O'Brian's road trip. The art, from Frameshop, is for sale and will rotate.
Above the bar, magnet maps of Ohio and of the U.S. pinpoint the origins of each beer on tap. (The tap handles are all the same, so customers don't choose based on the look of the taps.)
Heekin and O'Brian are striving for a low-key atmosphere, where beer drinkers can hang out and play board games, such as Jenga and Battleship, that they keep on hand. There's space for about 49, with 30 seats.
The name comes from a slang term from the 1920s for "the perfect state of mind after a couple of beers," as Heekin and O'Brian put it.
Soon, Gomez Salsa will open a taco window at the back of HalfCut, serving tacos, burritos, taco salads and more.
Hours are 3-10:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 4 p.m.-midnight Friday; noon-midnight Saturday; noon-6 p.m. Sunday.
