Photo by Alyx Chandler.
The Grocery Brewpub, opened in the former location of Red Hills Brewing Company, serves 24 rotating taps of craft beer, wine, house-made cocktails and what owner Rayford Cook describes as “delicious, street-style food.”
Homewood resident Rayford Cook said as a chef and beer fanatic, being able to open up the Grocery Brewpub has been a dream come true.
"Located at the old Red Hills Brewing space at 2823 Central Ave., the fast-casual brewpub is open seven days a week. The Grocery Brewpub offers 24 rotating taps of craft beer, wine, house-made cocktails and what Cook describes as “delicious, street-style food.”
“We have a lot of energy in here, and people are really enjoying it. Weekends have been full,” he said.
A brewpub, unlike breweries, serves a variety of beer, made locally and nationally, as well as some of its own beer brewed on-site. House-made cocktails include everything from Manhattans to sangrias to several types of margaritas.
It also includes what Cook said has been a favorite so far: the milkshake-like bushwhacker. Another favorite, he said, has been the “Grocery Cart Lemonade.”
Cook said he has been homebrewing for a long time now, and with the Grocery Brewpub, he’s been able to take his passion for beer and share it with the community. Currently, they carry eight of his team’s beers — with the Aisle 9 IPA being a favorite — along with eight local beers and eight national beers, making it what Cook calls “a one-stop brew shop.”
Cook said he chose to call it The Grocery to pay homage to the building’s past, where it once operated as an A&P grocery store. Cook said the Grocery Brewpub is divided into “aisles,” which includes a wine section where patrons can purchase a bottle to drink in-house; a merchandise section that sells T-shirts; the bar where draft beer can be purchased; and the aisle that leads into the bathroom. They also have a spacious backyard patio and plenty of games and TVs to watch football and other sports.
Cook said he’s spent most of his career in the food industry. In the last several years, the community has come to know him for his Off the Hook Food Truck, which has sold what he refers to as seafood-centric, southern street-style food. While they build the kitchen in the back of the Grocery Brewpub, they’ve been making the food out front in a food truck. Cook said he thinks building the kitchen will take about six months to complete.
The menu changes often, Cook said, but he plans to keep a few staples on board at all times, including his personal favorite, the smoked wings. For the summer, he’s been experimenting with some salads that he’s said have proven to be popular. One is a watermelon salad with a black bean corn relish over the top, sprinkled with goat cheese and mixed with balsamic vinegar, and another is a charred salmon salad.
Customers have loved the “Rocket Shrimp,” brought over from the food truck, which consists of half pound of Gulf shrimp that comes with vinegar slaw mixed with green peppers and red onions. They have also used their smoker to serve smoked pulled pork with a little bit of their homemade barbecue sauce. Soon, Cook said, he is going to add alligator to the mix and experiment with blackened alligator tacos with mango salsa, and a half alligator and half beef burger.
They are open for both lunch and dinner, seven days a week. For more information, go to thegrocerybrewpub.com.