What’s better than spending a sunny summer afternoon or a breezy moonlit night outdoors?
Adding a glass of local wine or beer to the mix would make it perfect.
Northeast Ohio has exploded with microbreweries and wineries, many run by families from converted warehouses with tables on parking lots and in back yards. The state boasts more than 378 wineries, according to the Ohio Wine Producers Association. Craft breweries are equally as popular, with more than 400 in the state, according to representatives from the Ohio Craft Brewers Association.
With so many choices and so little space, we’ve highlighted two small, family-owned businesses. To find others, go to Ohiowines.org or Ohiocraftbeer.org.
Cheers!
Muy Buena
Pulpo Beer Co.
By John Matuszak
A visit to Pulpo Beer Co. and the Barroco Arepa and Hola Tacos restaurants in downtown Willoughby is a feast for all the senses.
For the two sisters and their sister-in-law, natives of Venezuela, who launched Pulpo Beer Co. in 2020, there is one special ingredient.
“The best recipe is family,” a post on their Facebook page states.
The growing success of Pulpo Beer Co. (pulpo means octopus in Spanish) is the result of many generations working hard and supporting each other to achieve a dream.
“Our mother would teach us that we have to find our way,” says Jennifer Stuyvesant Ortiz, co-owner and operator of Pulpo with her sister, Joane Stuyvesant, and their sister-in-law, Paola Valbuena. “We have hands, and we have good health, and you have to want it. If you want it then there is no limit to reaching that maximum goal.”
They certainly had great role models. The Stuyvesants’ mother started a catering business from the kitchen of their three-room apartment in Venezuela. She also worked and attended college while raising her family.
Valbuena’s father always told her to “be responsible… you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”
A microbrewery wasn’t on their list, but it is bringing them an intoxicating level of success.
What’s on Tap
The women opened the doors of Pulpo Beer Co. in September 2020, as the first Latin-owned and themed microbrewery in Ohio.
“If we wanted to be the first one, we wanted to be the best one,” Valbuena says.
Pulpo works in conjunction with the restaurants managed by Valbuena’s brother-in-law, longtime Cleveland proprietor Juan Vergara. Valbuena is married to Stuyvesant Ortiz’s and Stuyvesant’s brother, George.
Their beers are sold at several retail shops. A second location is slated to open this month at Crocker Park on the west side.
All this comes from a team that knew nothing about the brewery business, and that had the imperfect timing of opening their venture in the middle of a pandemic.
When the two-story location of the Brim Brewery at 3941 Erie St. became available, they jumped at it.
Valbuena had worked for Pepsi, first as a lab tech and then as a production manager. Stuyvesant Ortiz and Stuyvesant had various positions that gave them experience in management, logistics, public relations and human resources.
With her lab experience, Valbuena took on the task of learning about brewing through online courses, and they hired a consultant to find the right people to aid their endeavor. Their head brewer is Jon Hill.
The entrepreneurs bring the flavors from their home of Maracaibo, Venezuela to their ever-expanding menu, with the tastes of coconut, mango, pineapple, vanilla, and even coffee infused into their beers with names such as Blonde Mamacita and Tropical Thunder.
“It definitely takes you back to that beach memory, that hot weather memory,” Stuyvesant Ortiz says. Customers share in that sensory experience, “they say, ‘I can smell that, I can taste that.’”
Their goal at the brewery is to ramp up to 1,000 31-gallon barrels of beer a year.
They benefited from the experience of Vergara, who has operated restaurants in Northeast Ohio for 12 years.
Along with managing marketing, social media and the kitchens, Vergara has festooned nearly every available wall with his own eye-popping paintings and other artworks.
“He never sleeps,” Stuyvesant Ortiz says. “He said he gets his best ideas between 2 and 5 a.m.”
Hola Tacos offers Mexican-themed foods and drinks, while Barroco Arepa serves up Latin-themed dishes and cocktails.
The establishment even has a rooftop patio.
Microbreweries aren’t just for Millennials and Gen Xers. Pulpo is bringing in its share of Boomers, eager to try out the variety of beers, Valbuena says.
Even the skeptical and those accustomed to so-called “real beer” find something they like.
“These are craft beers,” Stuyvesant Ortiz explains. “Not more real can you get.”
They chose the name pulpo and a logo of a six-armed octopus to honor the branches of their families that embraced them and allowed for their success.
The proprietors often jump in to help cook, tend the bar and wash dishes.
Do the women sometimes wish they had more arms like their logo?
“Six arms would be a nice thing,” Stuyvesant Ortiz admits. “We don’t have many hands, but we definitely wear many hats.”
John Matuszak is a Northeast Ohio freelance writer.
A Natural Fit:
Blind Squirrel Winery
By Joe Jancsurak
Doing what you love for a living is one thing, but doing it alongside those you love… that’s something to be savored, like a fine wine. No one knows that better than lifelong Twinsburg residents Bill and Cookie Delgado.
Three years after realizing their dream of having a cozy winery to call their own, the owners of The Blind Squirrel have established a clear lane for their business, which includes a rustic tasting room with a 12-foot-tall granite fireplace; a separate party/events room; and a patio/deck with views of the pond, woods and vineyard on an eight-acre site on Pettibone Road in Bainbridge.
As for the lane that they’ve established, that’s simple, says Bill Delgado, a retired high school graphic arts teacher, who enjoys table hopping and visiting with customers when he’s not caring for the building, grounds and vineyard.
“We want our winery to be a casual and memorable meeting place for Boomers and Millennials alike; a place that they return to often and recommend to their communities.”
Children (so long as they bring their parents) are also welcome to enjoy the beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces, live music (most weekends), soft drinks, light appetizers and food-truck fare (again, most weekends). Patrons also can bring their own snacks. (Tip: The Twinsburg Heinen’s is a great place to buy items to nosh before an evening at the winery.)
Nice Blend
This family atmosphere comes as no surprise after visiting with Cookie Delgado, a retired office administrator, who serves as the winery’s chief financial officer when she’s not greeting and serving patrons behind the bar.
“We wanted to have an establishment where our family could hold events and where we could work together,” she says. “Now, I get to work alongside my daughters and other family members. That’s special.”
Echoing that sentiment is Chrisy Guarino, one of the Delgados’ four married daughters, all of whom work at the winery, along with their husbands, two cousins and the Delgados’ two oldest grandsons.
“Because we’re family, we stand ready to assist each other at a moment’s notice,” says Guarino, who oversees the website/social media efforts and helps serve patrons, as do other family members (the two oldest grandsons, both too young to serve wine, bus tables).
“Another huge benefit is that we’re able to enjoy the beautiful space here and our wonderful patrons. It’s really a joy to talk and become friends with our customers.”
With so many family members committed to the winery’s success, The Blind Squirrel hasn’t had the labor issues other establishments are facing. And with eight more grandchildren waiting in the wings, there doesn’t appear to be any danger of a labor shortage any time soon.
There’s also no shortage of ideas.
“We try to meet quarterly as a staff to discuss matters related to day-to-day operations, wine/food selections, private events such as weddings, bridal/baby showers and retirement parties, and public events such as our fall Squirrel Fest featuring local crafters and artists,” says Bill Delgado, who gives props to daughter Katie Christensen for her work as events coordinator as well as “two amazing friends: Dale Layer, our assistant winemaker and Brian Sandridge, whose sawmill and woodworking expertise has benefitted us greatly. We have been blessed with some wonderful people that we consider to be family.”
“Whatever we do, we don’t ever want to leave our lane of being known as a casual, relaxing gathering place for the community.”
As for the venue’s name, Bill Delgado likes to recall something his dad was fond of saying: “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while, and this is our nut.”
Joe Jancsurak, a Northeast Ohio writer, wants readers to know that it’s always wine o’clock somewhere.
Note: Pulpo Beer Company is at 3941 Erie St., First Level in Willoughby and on the web at pulpobeerco.com. You can find The Blind Squirrel Winery at 7918 Pettibone Rd., in Bainbridge, about 1.5 miles east of Parkside Church and on the web at blindsquirrelwinery.com.
