CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Ohio — While Ohio saw more breweries close last year than new ones open, Scott Hemrock and Terry Nagy are optimistic.
The two are behind Purpose Brew Works, located at 8737 Mayfield Rd. in Chesterland, which is set to have its soft opening on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
After years of exponential growth, Ohio's craft beer industry has matured, and for Nagy and Hemrock, they're looking beyond beer.
At Purpose Brew Works, that means opening and being able to serve customers food — and other alcohol too.
"I wouldn't do it without a restaurant, I wouldn't do it without liquor and wine," Hemrock said. "When I think about 'where are we going to go to have a drink,' or 'where are we going to go listen to some music,' boy, it would sure be nice if they had food too. What if I don't want beer that night? What if I want a cocktail or my wife wants a glass of wine? We want that all in one place."
Justin Hemminger of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association said Ohio's 427 breweries in 2026 must diversify to survive.
"Breweries have to adapt, just like any other business has to adapt," Hemminger said. "A business is like a barstool: if you have good beer as one leg, that's great, but you need two other legs to stand on. You have to have good beer, it helps to have good food, a welcoming environment or something else unique about yourself to hold up the barstool and keep yourself in business. Some bars, restaurants, breweries are going to have to figure out those challenges and figure out what their barstool legs are."
Earlier this month, News 5 reported how three area breweries announced they were closing: Working Class Brewery in Cleveland and The Rabbit Hole and Magic City Brewing in Akron.
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"We know what they want – they want the full experience," Hemrock said. "If people aren't moving to that model, you'll probably see more and more attrition in the industry."
Purpose Brew Works is not the only new brewery opening in Northeast Ohio.
Birdtown Brewing is working to open inside a converted church on Quail Street in Lakewood. It's currently hoping to open the second week of April.
Clay LePard is the Ashtabula, Geauga and Portage counties reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @ClayLePard, on Facebook ClayLePardTV or email him at Clay.LePard@wews.com.
