BUFFALO, N.Y. — With patio season officially upon us, a new brewery and beer garden is all the buzz in the Southtowns.
"We came up with the name Wayland when we were thinking about, kind of like the feel we wanted to have at the brewery," Co-Owner Brad Rowell of Wayland Brewing Company. "We wanted it to be kind of just a light, fun, name that really made you think of this space."
Rowell, along with Headbrewer P.J. Dunn, and Caryn Dujanovich are the ownership team behind the massive new complex on North Buffalo Street in Orchard Park.
"We knew we wanted to create something really special for Western New York," Dujanovich said. "We wanted it to be really welcoming, bright, airy, just like a community hub for Orchard Park and surrounding areas."
This place is massive. Brewery production is in the back, with a courtyard and beer garden. There's an indoor taproom and atrium, and it's all built off a renovated historic home in the front that now houses a bar with a beer and merchandise shop.
Plus, there's an event space called Wayland Hall with room for more than 200 guests.
Caryn took the lead on design.
"I had Raelyn (Capozzi) from West End interiors and Brandon Davis from Block Club and we spent a lot of time on material selection and playing with different colors," she said. "I think my favorite area is probably the atrium tap room, looking into the courtyard, because we knew we really wanted to have a really beautiful courtyard where people can just come and hang out and relax and be in the sunshine. It feels really great."
While the scenery may be the first thing you notice, the menu is just as impressive. It draws from Wayland's sister restaurants, the Grange Community Kitchen in Hamburg and West Rose in Ellicottville.
"Just like our other restaurants, we focus on serving dishes that have seasonal ingredients using local farms," Rowell said. "I think we took a little turn toward kind of like a Mexican food here, which we think pairs really well with beer."
Dunn says the beer list includes German lagers, IPA's, and other fun one off's.
"In general I like all the beer to be really drinkable and accessible," he said. "I think a lot of our alcohol percentages are pretty low and I like that. It seems to be pretty well received by our guests so far."
Wayland Brewing Company is now open six days a week. Visit their website for more information.