Another local brewery is opening in downtown Wichita, and this one also will serve food.
Pour House, the new Wichita branch of El Dorado’s Walnut River Brewing Co., will officially open on Monday in the former Mumbai Rail space in the Rock Island Depot at Union Station, 711 E. Douglas.
Owners B.J. Hunt, Rick Goehring and Travis Rohrberg, along with help from their well-known general manager Darrin Hackney, have pulled off an impressive remodel of the former Indian restaurant space, and they’re hoping it becomes a place where people “chill, hang out” and enjoy a beer and a burger. (Or fried pickles, fish and chips or pretzels and beer cheese, if that’s more to their liking.)
The new brewery still features the original tile floors, but the owners have added lots of pallet wood to the walls to give it a more homey feel. It’ll seat 68 downstairs, and unless it’s being used for a private event, the upstairs area can seat another 49.
The bar, which the owners moved to the restaurant’s south side, has an eye catching tap system under a “Road House”-esque neon sign that reads “Pour House.” The bar will always have 12 Walnut River beers on tap, and it will also have wine on tap plus a few mixed drinks and cocktails.
The menu features appetizers including smoked pretzels with beer cheese, Scotch eggs, charcuterie boards, wings and fried pickles. It also lists fish and chips, bangers and mash, several sandwiches and a burger. There are also kids meals, and dessert choices include a coffee porter float made with beer and ice cream.
When it gets warm, the patio on the west side of the building will be able to hold up to 90 people. Hackney said he hopes to give it a test run over St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
Another interesting conversation piece in the brewery: The owners have erected in a corner their original two-barrel brewing system they used when they first started out. It’s not just decorative, though. They plan to use it to brew some small-batch beers on site. Everything else will be delivered from the main brewing facility in El Dorado.
As is the case with several of the businesses in the Union Station project, modest signage keeps people from noticing what’s there when driving past. But the owners have put some eye-catching, fun-looking lighted letters in the west-facing upstairs windows to help the new business get noticed by passers by.
The regular hours at Pour House will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
On Monday, the day the business officially opens, closing time will be 2 p.m. since it’s Christmas Eve. It’ll be closed on Christmas Day then will resume normal hours on Wednesday. It’ll also be closed on New Year’s Day.
Hackney said that Pour House had a few trial runs this week, and owners invited fellow restaurant and brewery owners to come by and try out the beer and the new menu. Things went well, and they were able to make some adjustments before opening day, Hackney said.
“This is going to be a place where people can come and hang out with their friends, get a beer, get some food, chill and talk about the boss,” he said.
This story was originally published December 21, 2018 5:02 AM.
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