The former Pabst Brewery "33 Room" is reopening to the general public as a bar next year, nearly four decades after the beermaker permanently shut down its Peoria Heights plant.
Co-owners Kip Rodier and Dustin Crawford said the bar will blend beer with history.
The idea started with Rob Matheson, the owner of Peoria Heights' Pour Brothers and Slowhand BBQ. But when he ran out of resources to pursue the project, he passed it off to Rodier and Crawford.
Rodier brings the background on the 33 Room's history, while Crawford has the expertise with drinks.
"If you visited the brewery and took a tour, you ended up there for complimentary beers. Similar to any other brewery tour today, like Anheuser Busch," Rodier said.
But the 33 Room wasn't open for business to everyone.
"I understand if you were salaried, or management of any type there, you could go there on your lunch break. You could go there for beers. But yeah, some of the guys at the past open house we had were saying, if you were union, you weren't allowed in there," Crawford said.
Rodier and Crawford are in the process of restoring the 33 Room to its' 1950s-era appearance.
"The bar itself is largely original. The bar top, the back bar, (the) beautiful, curved wall behind the bar is all original. And it's been repainted to look like it was before, like the front of the bar. So it no longer looks like a jewelry shop," said Crawford, referencing the business which occupied the space most recently.
The Pabst Brewery's 1982 closure left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Central Illinoisans. To this day, some former employees still swear off cracking open a PBR.
But the reception to the 33 Room's revival is positive.
"We've had a lot of people excited, a lot of the generation that worked there has come in and a lot of nostalgia, even people who are like 'my grandpa worked here', you know," said Crawford. "Those kind of stories really show us how deeply the roots that Pabst had, and still do have, in Peoria Heights and the Peoria area in general."
One open house visitor, a former employee, even had his first Pabst beer in nearly four decades - a sign that the old bitterness might be fading.
Crawford and Rodier plan to open the 33 Room next year, with a ribbon cutting slated for March. Crawford is bringing some of his signature cocktails, but they also plan to pay homage to the space's legacy.
"We're definitely having PBR on tap. You know, we'll always have PBR on tap there and we're planning on having one or two rotating tap handles, as well," Crawford said.
Rodier said they also want to highlight locally-brewed beers, like Bearded Owl.
"We're looking forward to being part of the Peoria Heights community. It's a really thriving area right now," said Rodier. "And we feel, you know, the history of the 33 Room is really going to complement what's going on in the Heights."
