New brewery, coffeehouse opening at Oak Openings

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - From coffee in the morning, to cocktails in the evening, and a little bit of Metroparks in between. It’s a brand-new experience to our Metroparks system, and it’s all made possible by local partnerships.

“It’s more than a walk in the woods, it can be an engaging experience,” says Andrew Newby, CEO of HEAVY Beer Company. He founded HEAVY through Toledo Spirits. And the HEAVY spirit is all about Toledo.

Newby tells 13abc, “We’re able to create these different partnerships just through naturally being like-minded in what we can really turn the Toledo area into, what we can do down on the riverfront, what we can do in these parks.”

Those partnerships include the Mud Hens, Black Kite Coffee, and Metroparks Toledo.

“We wanted to create an oasis in the woods for people coming to visit Oak Openings,” he explains, “Whether it’s to enjoy the Treehouse Village, or using the FitPark, or going out for a hike.” Mike Keedy is the Director of Enterprise Development with Metroparks Toledo. “We’re excited,” he says, “because this gives us a whole new opportunity to create a fun atmosphere for our park visitors.”

And spots like these will continue to pop up in the Metroparks. Keedy tells 13abc, “We are going to be opening a Poco Piatti at the Park, downtown at the new Glass City Metropark. Phase Two is in progress right now, so it will be open around this time next year.”

The future of HEAVY is growing too. Newby plans to open a 60,000 square-foot facility with a concert venue, gaming floor, and more at the Village on Adams. Plus, he says, “We’re currently designing a new “Toledo Beer Week” as the Toledo Brewers Alliance, that’ll be happening later this summer. Something where we can really use that to promote regional beers, regional craft-makers.”

And that Toledo energy is obvious even in HEAVY’s name.

“HEAVY’s all about being heavy into it. If you’re heavy into it, we’re heavy into it,” says Newby. “It’s really about living a heavy life. Living a passionate, engaged life.”

HEAVY is expected to open this spring. You can keep up with the brewery on its Facebook page.

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