Collision Bend Brewing Co.’s Euclid expansion coming along

Luke Purcell stands in Collision Bend Brewing Co.'s space in Euclid.

EUCLID, Ohio – Collision Bend Brewing Co.'s Luke Purcell is a busy guy, but somehow he keeps the balls in the air: He just came off a fun promotion at the brewery marking the 49th anniversary for 10 Cent Beer Night. He is one of the key organizers for the annual Cleveland Beer Week. And he is coordinating a massive brewery expansion in Euclid.

In a few months, a cavernous warehouse space adjacent to the Amazon CLE3 fulfillment center on Babbitt Road in Euclid is being built to hold all things beer – brewing, serving, sipping.

The space – which covers about 25,000 square feet – is being transformed into brewery, taproom, kitchen, offices, an operating loading dock, shipping / receiving area, milling room, storage area, lab and garage doors. A 25- to 30-person bar will be installed.

The unique location is highly industrial. It's on the south side of Interstate 90 and 13 miles from Progressive Field. Nearest brewery is The Cleveland Brewery, about 4 miles away on Waterloo Road in Cleveland. And while the space is mostly bare-bones girders and laid-out architectural plans, Purcell is looking forward to opening, possibly by end of summer.

"It's moving along now," he said.

Tanks are in Collison Bend's new space, the beer awaits.

For customers, Collision Bend in Cleveland's Flats East Bank boasts one of the best views and patios around. Behind the scenes, brewers are dealing with high demand, especially through Collision Bend's can production.

"We started moving more and more cans," Purcell said regarding he and fellow brewer Ben Northeim. "We were busy last summer. It was stressful; we kept canning."

It was almost exactly five years ago when Collision Bend canned its first beer - Lake Erie Sunset, an American Pale Wheat Ale that rolled out in July 2018.

"That moment was when things really shifted," Purcell said.

For the expansion, they had mulled new construction but came across the site and procured brewing equipment that fits their needs.

Construction is under way in the space, which will hold a brewery, taproom, kitchen and more.

Purcell and the rest of the ownership team kept their business plan "open-ended" as demand grew, he said.

The Babbitt Road space will hold a 30-barrel brewhouse. With tanks originally used by Columbus Brewing Co. and then the now-defunct Commonhouse Ales, Purcell designed a system to have a "direct draw" from bar to the cooler.

"Basically, lines going right through," he said. "That's how I designed it, with the cooler being the back bar so you don't have to have a long run. It's the best way you can do it."

Other tanks from Cleveland are being brought in. Collision Bend in Cleveland uses a 15-barrel system.

Purcell knows his way around a brewhouse. He started on a 30-barrel system at Great Lakes Brewing Co., where he worked for two decades before helping launch Collision Bend in 2017 on Old River Road.

We take a sneak peek at the expansion for Collision Bend Brewing Co. The Cleveland brewery is expanding to Euclid.

The Euclid address – 1261 Babbitt Road – previously held Taylor and Boggis Foundry. That company was started in Cleveland during the Civil War, and in 1932 moved to Euclid, taking over the location formerly occupied by Cleveland Brass & Copper Mill Co. The foundry covered quite a bit of space in the neighborhood. It even advertised for jobs in the local publication "Enakopravnost," Slovenian for "equality."

Taylor & Boggis built castings, survived accidents and endured strikes before shutting down in 1961. Later, the company was taken over and spun off several times.

Regarding history and location, Euclid does not have a brewery-brewpub-kitchen. Doug Fry opened Euclid Brewing Co., a storefront brewery at 21950 Lakeshore Blvd., on April 30, 2016, but closed it a year later after a fire ravaged the building.

But in the near future, Collision Bend will fill that void.

Andy Dombrowski, who runs the kitchen at Collision Bend and Alley Cat Oyster Bar – which share ownership – will coordinate the food at the Babbitt Road location. What and when he serves is to be determined.

Collision Bend's expansion in Euclid covers about 25,000 square feet.

Purcell said business folks in the area have told him, "You’re crazy if you don't open for lunch."

"I said, ‘I don't know.’ We thought, ‘Maybe we’ll open on the weekend.’ We don't know what to expect."

They also heard there are few places to take people for a corporate-type lunch, and the area has a lot of shift workers. Some people even told them, "You’re crazy if you don't open for breakfast."

Purcell remains open-minded.

"We don't really know what it's going to turn into," he said. "We’re just going to let it happen."

The expansion means the future is open for Collision Bend.

The space will be able to accommodate private events, said Chelsie Serena, who handles marketing for the brewery.

"Obviously it's a different scene than downtown Collision is," she said.

Because of jockeying around with the size of tanks in Cleveland, the expansion's residual effect means Collision Bend's original location will be able to increase the variety of beers brewed, and allow the brewers to make different and unique beers, Serena and Purcell said.

Finally, one thing Purcell is looking forward to, when the construction is finished and the beer is flowing, are sliding barn doors that will lead to the loading-dock area. That's because Purcell remembers fondly the casual after-work get-togethers with employees from Great Lakes and the old Crooked River Brewing Co.

"I’m looking forward to dock parties," he said. "We did it all the time - good times."

And more to come when an industrial warehouse becomes a brewery.

Related coverage

Collision Bend to open 25,000-square-foot production facility, taproom in Euclid

Collision Bend Brewing Co. wins U.S. Can of the Year honors

Collision Bend Brewing Co. begins canning (video)

Fire forces Euclid Brewing Co. to close temporarily; tap takeover planned

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I am on cleveland.com's life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, here's a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Twitter: @mbona30.

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