Apr. 27—An expansion of a local Oneonta brewery will include tacos, hot sauce and coffee.

Jared Wood, owner of Muddy River Brewery in Unadilla, said he wanted to expand his business to a second location that could be open year-round, and found a space for rent at the West Gate Plaza in the town of Oneonta. He said his brewery in Unadilla is open weekends from May to October, and will open May 6.

Wood said he opened the brewery on his family's farm in 2016 after growing hops for four years for other brewers. The expansion to Oneonta will "triple our production," he said. Seasonal beers will be produced at the Unadilla site and flagship beers will be produced in the 3,000 square foot production room at the Oneonta site, he said.

"I've had my eye on this space. It used to be a distillery, so I knew it had some equipment I needed," he said.

Wood said in addition to the production room, the building will house a 1,500 square foot taproom. The taproom will serve Muddy River Brewery beers, local ciders and state-produced liquor, he said. The bar was in the process of being framed, and the production room, kitchen and walls needed to be finished. Wood said he hoped to open later this summer.

While he was talking to the new owners of the plaza, he said one of the owners mentioned he had an idea about a place that served beer and coffee. Wood said he knew Jesse Wakeman, co-owner of Wakeman Coffee Co. in Sidney, his whole life and sent him a text message to ask if he was also interested in expanding his business, he said. "Jesse called me and told me yes," Wood said.

Wakeman said he and co-owner Sage McKinley started roasting their own coffee during the pandemic, bought an old firehouse in the village of Sidney, and converted it into a café and coffee shop. They serve baked goods, meat, trout, milk and tea made by local producers, McKinley said.

They are waiting for roasters, which are built in the U.S., to be delivered to the Oneonta site, and were given a quote time of three months, Wakeman said. Wood said he is also waiting for equipment. "I ordered the system in mid-December, and there is a mid-May delivery date," he said

The kitchen is also being renovated and will be occupied by Tylan Klinker, owner of Ty's Taco-ria food truck. Wood said he asked Klinker if she was interested in serving her tacos at the new taproom. Klinker has served tacos out of her food truck at the brewery in Unadilla for six years, he said. Klinker said she will still have her food truck at local events, but said she is looking forward to the expansion to a brick-and-mortar site. She said the expansion will also allow her to hire an employee for a full-time position.

Wakeman, Klinker and Wood said in order to expand, they will hire local. They expect to hire 10 people.

Wood said he also asked Anne Elizabeth Moore, owner of Tinkertown Provisions, if she would like to make and sell her hot sauce at the taproom. Moore, an author, said she started making hot sauce after she made sriracha for a friend. "It never occurred to me that you could make your own sauce," she said. She then started experimenting and now makes a variety of hot sauces, without tomatoes. "It's all natural fermentation," she said. She tries to use local organic ingredients and enjoys combining different fruit and spices to make her hot sauces, she said.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.