STAMFORD, CT — Cisco Brewers, a brewery based in Nantucket, Mass., specializing in beers, wines and spirits, is set to open its first Connecticut location in Stamford this spring.
According to Jay Harman, one of the brewery’s five owners, Cisco’s new outpost will feature a restaurant and an outdoor beer garden area offering the brewery’s signature products, as well as products from sister companies Triple Eight Distillery and Nantucket Vineyard, in addition to some new exclusives. (To sign up for Stamford breaking news alerts and more, click here.)
The outpost will be located in The Village, a 133,000 square-foot indoor/outdoor campus intended to “fuel opportunity for community, commerce and creativity,” according to a news release.
The Village will also host Wheelhouse, a TV, film and digital content conglomerate, and ITV America as its anchor tenants. The campus is scheduled to open in the spring, with Cisco currently planned to open sometime around April, Harman said.
The Village is financed by media magnate and Wheelhouse CEO Brent Montgomery, whose planning and vision Harman praised.
“Brent Montgomery has been an unbelievable partner on the whole project,” Harman said. “They have a very clear vision of what they’re trying to create there, and we’re just one piece of that.”
According to Montgomery, The Village is intended to offer residents a way to work and live, combining a “relaxed, super high-quality” environment with an important social fabric.
“Cisco Brewers’ philosophy is quite aligned with ours at The Village,” Montgomery said, “and that comes through in their food and craft beverages, and in the vibe of the restaurant, which is fun, cool and family-friendly. We’re so proud to bring their first Connecticut outpost to the community and can’t wait for everyone to experience Cisco Brewers at The Village. It’s going to be a blast.”
According to Harman, working with Wheelhouse has been an absolute pleasure for the Cisco team.
“We knew right from the get-go that Wheelhouse was the perfect partner on this,” Harman said, “they get what we’re all about.”
Though planning for the new Stamford location with the Wheelhouse team began a couple of years ago, Harman said they had been considering a Connecticut location for a while, as Fairfield County is one of their brand’s biggest markets.
“Connecticut has been on the map as far as places where our brand really resonates,” Harman said. “We’ve looked in the Fairfield County area, and this was just like the perfect opportunity the way the deal was carved out with Brent and his team.”
According to Harman, the outdoor space will be both family and dog-friendly, offering a beach festival vibe similar to their Nantucket location, complete with live music and food trucks.
“People let their guard down when they come to our place,” Harman said. “They have a few drinks, and it’s a cool spot to catch a buzz with your dog.”
Cisco offers a wide variety of products, including their signature Whale’s Tale pale ale and Grey Lady wheat ale. According to Harman, many of those products sell particularly well in the coastal stretch between Greenwich and Fairfield.
“I think Nantucket resonates with that area and the demographic there,” Harman said. “Nantucket is sort of a key vacation spot for a lot of people that live in the Fairfield County area.”
With that in mind, the Cisco team hopes to bring the “relaxed, dialed back” vibe their products have become synonymous with to their newest outpost.
“I feel like we’re more in the entertainment business than in the brewing business,” Harman said. “Having all these brands and stuff is great, it supports what we do, but people love the vibe that we’ve created, and I think that’s where the excitement is coming from right now.”
Thomas Madden, the city’s economic development director, said he was excited to welcome Cisco to the growing roster of breweries in Stamford, which includes Half Full Brewery and Lock City Brewing.
“As we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel for COVID-19,” Madden said, “the opening of the brewery at The Village will add another destination for our residents to go and socialize and connect, but also to help attract people and companies to Stamford.”
Did you like that story? Invite your friends to subscribe to Patch.
2020-12-10 22:51:00
