Starflyer Brewing to open in downtown Canton

CANTON – Andrew Archer is not new to the brewing scene. He has been in the industry for more than seven years, most recently brewing for HiHO Brewing Co. in Cuyahoga Falls.

But now, he’s venturing out to start his own brewery, with some help from family. Archer, along with his wife, Bailey Archer, and her brother, Ethan Comfort, are the team behind Starflyer Brewing Co., a brewery coming to downtown Canton this year.

“We’ve always known that if we ever launched a brewery — or any business for that matter — it would be a family affair,” Archer said. “Beer has always been a part of our marriage, starting with the homebrew we served at our wedding reception, and Bailey has been wanting to start a business since she was just a little girl selling cookies and necklaces to family and friends. And when Bailey’s brother, Ethan, heard about our dream, he immediately asked to join in and offer his math and stats skills as our third partner and CFO.”

The brewery is in an unlikely spot, inside Deli Ohio at 328 Walnut Ave. NE in downtown Canton just a few blocks from Centennial Plaza. If you’ve been to Deli Ohio, you might be wondering where a brewery could fit. Well, there’s a rather large portion of the building that has been unused for about five years.

“We actually met Ryan (Miller), the owner of Deli Ohio, because of another building he’s involved with developing nearby that he thought would be a good location for a brewery. After checking that space out together, we realized it could be more feasible and mutually beneficial to share space with Deli Ohio instead,” Archer said. “This collaborative approach will help both businesses bring in more foot traffic than they would on their own, while also giving guests a unique beer and food experience."

Starflyer will have its own double door entrance on Walnut separate from Deli Ohio’s entrance, but the two restaurants will share dining space. The plan is to have a half wall separating the two spaces.

Stark County already is home to 12 craft breweries, In addition to Starflyer opening soon, the Strongsville-based The Brew Kettle plans to open a brewery at the Hall of Fame Village in Canton.

Things are still in the works to get Starflyer up and running, hopefully by spring or summer, so I caught up with Archer to get a preview of what’s to come.

I see you worked in Cuyahoga Falls. Why did you choose Canton to open your brewery?

I loved my time at HiHO in Cuyahoga Falls, but as a longtime Cantonian, I always knew that I wanted to brew closer to home.

We grew up in the area and have enjoyed living in Canton proper for the last decade and really want to become more involved with the community. A brewery obviously gives people another space to eat and drink, but we're working hard to make sure it's also a space where everyone feels welcome.

I see you’ve also done some homebrewing along with your working at a brewery. How did you know when the right time was to start plans for your own brewery?

Honestly, like any major life endeavor, if you're waiting for just the right time, it will never come.

We had known for a while that this was something that we wanted to do eventually, so when we heard of a potential opportunity for a space downtown, we just decided to follow that opportunity as far as we could.

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What are your plans for the beers at Starflyer? How many and what styles?

We’ll have eight beers on tap, mainly brewed in-house, but some guest taps, as well.

I love brewing and drinking as many different styles as possible, so we’ll have plenty of variety.

That being said, my favorite beers to brew and drink are what I call ‘botanical beers’ — things like lavender saison, chai tea spiced ale or a favorite amongst prototype batches, the gin and tonic-inspired pale ale.

What size brewing system are you using?

We have a 3.5-barrel system that was the original brewhouse for Lockport Brewing Co., just down the street in Bolivar.

It’s a system that’s big enough to supply enough beer for the taproom, yet small enough to allow for plenty of creative brews that may not move quite as quickly as something like a pilsner or IPA.

Are you going to can or bottle any of your beers?

We won’t have a bottling or canning line when we open, but we’d love to get our beers into cans eventually. We will definitely offer beer to-go in growlers though, and hope to offer aluminum crowlers, as well.

Will all sales be on-premise or will you distribute at all?

Our main focus will be beer sales over the bar in the taproom, but we’ve made sure to set things up so we’re able to distribute a small amount of kegs locally, as well.

How will you distinguish your brand from other local breweries?

I’d like to think that our logo and branding already stand out from the crowd, as it usually draws instant compliments whenever I hand someone a business card or sticker.

But we're also fortunate that our brewer’s sister went to school for design and gets to flex some of her creative muscles helping out her brother’s business. Beyond those visual components, we’re also placing an emphasis on kindness and inclusivity, things we’ve seen in the brewing community, but don’t always get the spotlight we feel they deserve.

We want anyone in Canton to be able to walk in our doors and feel welcome. We value inclusivity, accessibility, compassion and education. Educating our customers is part of our mission.

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What are your plans for the space? What kind of vibe will it have?

In a word, colorful. There’s nothing wrong with the open, industrial vibe that so many taprooms have, but we want to bring Canton something a little more unique with our space.

Think bright colors, various patterns and lots of local artwork.

I see you have a Founders’ Club. Can you explain how that works and how individuals can become part of that?

Unfortunately it is too late now to join the Founders' Club, but we are still seeking funding in other capacities. We will be launching a Kickstarter campaign some time in March. Anyone interested in more information on that campaign or any other forms of investment can reach out to us through our website or social media.

I see a mention of a possible collaboration with Mike’s Pizza team. Will there be a food menu, and if so, what will be on it?

Having food at the taproom is essential for us, and we actually have two food menus planned.

For lunch service, our guests will be able to order from Deli Ohio’s menu and utilize our shared dining space. And during other hours, we will be working with Mike’s Pizza to serve New York-style pizza.

We are super excited to be working alongside both of these excellent companies to provide a food menu that’s already a proven hit with customers.

How did you come up with the name?

We knew we wanted the name to be whimsical yet tied to a sense of place. Having grown up in the area, we were inspired by catching lightning bugs as kids, but all the more common names — lightning bug, firefly, glow worm — would have ended in legal disputes.

There is a band named Starflyer 59 that our brewer has grown pretty fond of since landing on the name, but we’re pretty sure our industries are separate enough to not ruffle any feathers there.

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Anything else you’d like to share about the brewery?

For anyone that wants to stay up to date on the latest Starflyer Brewing Co. news, make sure to follow us on social. We’re @starflyerbrewing on Instagram. Or you can visit our website, starflyerbrewing.com, where you can sign up for our monthly newsletter.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Brewery to open in downtown Canton Ohio