Barbara Ritter, owner of Boiler Room Brewhaus at 2 S. National, has been extra busy since the new year began.
Her sister, Peggy, is a co-owner with Barbara and her husband, Bryan is the brewer.
Bryan and Barbara were doing the final touches of a recent reno last week.
Fort Scott’s first microbrewery is located on the busy corner of Wall Street and National Ave. The Ritter’s feature beer tastings, by the glass and take out.
Since having the business rebranded in the fall, they realized they needed to take some time to do some new things in the microbrewery.
They have expanded their tap selection.
“We are going to have six of our brews on at a time,” Barbara said. “We have been canning our beer since fall.”
They have been doing some decorative changes as well.
“Basically, we did a lot of painting,” Barbara said. “Walls, doors, vanities, tables…in nostalgic colors.”
Since the building was built in 1960, “we have added some elements from that time period,” to the decor, she said.
The Ritters are looking for vintage photos of the Downtowner Hotel, which now houses the microbrewery.
“If anyone has any vintage photos of the Downtowner or people, that they would be willing to share…to purchase or display,” Ritter said, please contact them at 913.636.4892 or 620-644-5032.
“This building was completed in February 1960,” she said.
The Ritter’s moved their business to the new site at the corner of National Avenue and Wall Street on June 1, 2018.
The old logo is gone and has been replaced with nostalgic ones:
Though the microbrewery doesn’t serve meals, they have menus from restaurants where people can order food and have it delivered or can bring it into the Brewhaus, she said.
“There is also a $5 taco bar catered by Crooner’s Lounge on Thursdays, $5 and you can eat all the tacos you want,” Barabara said.
They will also be offering some new appetizers.
Each Friday is karaoke from 7-9 p.m., and Sundays there are team trivia games from 5-7 p.m.
“We are looking to add a music bingo game, possibly on Saturday evenings,” she said. “We will try it once to see how it goes.”
“We are hoping to have musicians coming once a month,” she said. “There are three in the works so far for the next couple of months.”
Currently, they have four part-time employees and two full-time.
“We are looking for one more part-time, one day a week,” she said. “Possibly an older employee with a good work ethic, who is looking for something to do.”
“We’ve had a really good year,” Barbara said. “Almost one-half of customers are new to Fort Scott. Fifty-one percent are local people.. We have a variety of people of all ages.”
“People say this is a cool little town,” she said. “This town has a lot to offer.”