CLEVELAND — Market Garden Brewery has been an anchor establishment in Ohio City for more than a decade.
With a production brewery and retail store, a bustling brewpub and beer garden all located within a stones throw of the iconic West Side Market, there's no shortage of places to enjoy your favorite beers and ciders. Now, you can add rooftop concept Canopy to their list of destinations.
It's an idea that's been many years in the making, explains owner Sam McNulty.
"We'll just say it took us a few years to finally build out the rooftop bar and patio," McNulty told 3News contributor Doug Trattner, and reporter Mike Polk Jr. during a recent visit. "We're calling it Canopy because if you look around, you see all the tree canopies popping up. It's just kind of an urban oasis.
The space features seating areas, a large open-air bar, and of course some interactive games like giant Jenga and cornhole.
"There's something special about being up elevated in the air, kind of feels escapist in a way, like you're on vacation. We wanted it to feel like you were somewhere else."
The space also features the iconic clock tower of the nearby West Side Market - so much so that McNulty even built bleacher seating right in front of it, perfect for a photo op. He acknowledges that when Ohio City was struggling as a neighborhood, the Cleveland institution has always drawn visitors to the neighborhood.
"It would attract two plus million people a year. Our idea was, let's create a neighborhood around it," he recalled. "Most of [West 25th] street was boarded up and vacant, but it had so much potential. So we just said, Hey, let's turn this neighborhood around, create a bit of a renaissance, make this a fun neighborhood for Clevelanders."
McNulty hopes to ultimately keep the rooftop open for most of the year.
"This summer, we're going to keep it events only and then next summer we'll have regular hours and welcome the public up here. The Full Market Garden Brewery Beer selection and full menu will be available up here as well."