SUFFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio – You might say Crafted Artisan Meadery’s expansion is more than an ambitious plan. It’s a religious experience.
That’s because the ground where Kent Waldeck is moving his meadery once held churches dating to the 19th century. He is hoping for a late summer / early fall opening. All the while, he is still producing mead down the road.
“It’s been a fascinating year,” he said.
And it involves a project that almost didn’t happen in the space he chose.
In 2018, the Suffield Township Board of Trustees discussed tearing down the church. Believed to be the oldest commercial structure in the township, it was dilapidated and deteriorating.
About a year later, Waldeck was considering moving his business - which opened in 2012 - to Asheville, North Carolina. But he came upon the property, which is very close to where his original meadery is located.
To say the site of the expansion has a colorful past is an understatement.
In 2014, a couple who had operated a career college on the Waterloo Road property were arrested and charged with felony counts in a swindling scheme. Part of the school involved massage therapy which, according to a story in the Kent-Ravenna Record-Courier, included sexual favors. They eventually were sentenced to prison.
The empty building atrophied. Racoons nested, doors were damaged from being kicked in, trees had grown through the roof, Waldeck said.
“It was like the rapture happened,” he said. “Everything was still in here. It was in complete disrepair.”
Waldeck saw promise and worked with Portage County Land Bank to secure the property and create a plan that would preserve the structure while allowing for the meadery’s expansion.
“It’s one of those things, you get that old building, you get the history that goes along with it,” he said.
And that history goes back much further. Three churches sat on the property. The first reportedly dated to the 1820s. The log-cabin-like structure eventually was moved down the road. A sandstone foundation was laid in 1864 for another church, then the current structure was built in 1881. In 1928, a Sunday-school addition was built, and in 1959 a concrete-floor addition was put in. In 1966, the Suffield United Church of Christ marked 125 years.
And to think the meadery has “been around for a decade,” Waldeck said.
“We just found this really cool old building that was a whorehouse at one point, a church at another point, now it’s going to be a meadery.”
Crafted Artisan Meadery will cover 12,000 square feet – a huge jump from its current 2,000 square-foot space. Crumbling walls were jack-hammered for rebuilding. Paint was blasted off the ceiling’s underside, leaving the metal’s unique patina. Insulation was added.
“Not much of what was is here,” Waldeck said. “We threw a hand grenade in it.”
Under a plaster wall they found original pine-wall sheathing from 1880. Waldeck said the local historical society said the timbered pine was hauled to Uniontown on horse and buggy, then brought back for construction. Now, some of that will be salvaged for an area facing the bar. Josh Bentley, who designs the meadery’s label art, created a mural of bees along that back wall.
“We’re closing in on the finish line,” Waldeck said.
And while he is trying to “embrace as many of the historical parts as we could,” the project involves adding modern infrastructure into a very old place. Walls, HVAC, plumbing, electrical – all new.
The project is necessary because Waldeck’s business is one of the nation’s most distributed meaderies, with its product in 18 states. And for a niche product, “Having a wide reach for distribution is not a bad thing,” he said.
“Niche” is a fair description for mead. An ancient honey-based fermented drink, craft meads can take on a wealth of flavors and range widely on the dry-to-sweet spectrum. Its flavor profiles can lead to an eye-opening experience for one’s palate. Its biggest challenge is its retail distribution shelf space, but Crafted Artisan Meadery’s growth has soared.
“We had been kind of waiting to make a move. We needed the space,” Waldeck said. “How do we take this to the next level and make it sustainable?”
Construction is going on while the mead is being produced at the nearby original location.
“I am very close to losing all grasp on sanity at every given moment,” he joked.
“As much as what people might disagree with or agree with what we are doing, with this being a church, most of the older people in the community are supportive. This building was (in shambles).”
A few feet from the meadery sits an ancient cemetery, with tilting white slaps on a sloping hillside. One woman who was born in 1781 is buried there. Most died in the 1800s.
“Not much happens in our corner of Portage County,” Waldeck said. “We wanted to do something to help the community a little bit. Really what we’re trying to do is create a destination.” He said 50% of the meadery’s foot traffic comes from out of state.
“You go to some of these breweries and really cool places and you see things you don’t necessarily see around here, maybe, as far as the taproom and vibe and culture,” he said. “Our goal is to try to bring some of that here.”
That means a casual, family-friendly, approachable place to relax over a drink, or sip while you learn about mead.
When completed, the space will hold seven 30-barrel fermenters and a canning line to handle 30 cans per minute. A drink rail, view of the equipment, kitchen and large bar are all coming along. The space is large enough to accommodate folks on the patio, music inside and trivia in another part.
For food, pizza, salads and charcuterie are planned, as is carryout. For drinks, 24 taps with four still meads, 10 to 12 session meads and eight guest beers will be available along with cocktails.
“I’m a realist,” Waldeck said. “Mead’s a unique thing. In order for us to do what we want to do, to have our meads and that alone, would be foolish. People want to come in and have a beer, too. … What we’re doing is an educational thing. People come in and they have questions – ‘Where do you get your honey, what is mead?’ "
Those questions will be answered in the future as the meadery moves forward with an eye on the past. It remains an ambitious project for a company that is ready to keep growing.
“We’ve been pretty lucky and blessed with what we’ve done,” Waldeck said. “At the same time it’s scary as hell.”
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Crafted Artisan Meadery keeps growing, eyes expansion (photos, video)
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I am on cleveland.com’s life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, here’s a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Twitter: @mbona30.
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