What's better than beer and pizza?
Nothing according to the owners of two businesses now operating under one roof at 26 Elm St. in Collingwood.
On Oct. 12, the long-awaited Endswell Beer company opened as the primary tenant of the renovated building
“The community came out with such support and love," said Endswell co-owner Dana Kaluzny.
Joining them is Later Pizza, a business that started at the back of Bent Taco in 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of dine-in restaurants, the owners used the dining room as a pizza kitchen and offered take-out. When the partners later sold their majority share of Bent Taco, they started looking for a new location for Later Pizza.
For married couple Dana Kaluzny and Mike Noonan, opening their own brewery was the culmination of 20 years experience in the beer business.
The couple met while working at Steam Whistle Brewing in Toronto in 2008. They fell in love and got married in the brewery. Then the couple began travelling, studying beer making and brewery operations. They built a vision for their own brewery.
“This is a dream 10 years in the making,” Kaluzny said.
Through the hardship of a long and expensive process to find a building, get a building permit, find brewing equipment, renovate, etc, the couple kept persevering with the mantra "all's well that ends well," hence the name of the micro-brewery.
Noonan is the brewer and Kaluzny runs the taproom.
There's two unique things about their set up.
First, the beer served on tap comes directly from the conditioning tanks in the refrigerated room of the brewery.
"You are getting really fresh draft beer," Kaluzny said.
Second, the couple have brought back an old English tradition of cask beer. Cask beer is naturally aged in wooden casks and not pumped with carbon dioxide. The result is a beer served less cold and less carbonated than draft beer.
"It flows like a Guinness," said Kaluzny.
Patrons can try the same beer on tap or cask to compare.
“Our beers overall are lower carbonated and lower alcohol. Most of our beers are under five per cent alcohol,” she said.
The cost for the beer is $10 for a 20-ounce glass, $7 for a 12 ounce glass and $4 for a six-ounce glass. The cost includes tax and gratuity. Singles and six-pack cans are also for sale from the refrigerator near the cash.
Collingwood bylaws only allow for a brewery to be an accessory to a restaurant and take up no more than 25 per cent of the space.
That's where Kaluzny was looking for someone who was as passionate about food as she and Noonan are about beer. At the same time, Later Pizza was looking for a location with a kitchen and water capacity to run their pizzeria.
"Our goal is to run a sustainable pizzeria within the Collingwood area. It’s also about keeping it affordable and inclusive to the community,” said George Russell, who owns the business along with three partners: Cole Drexler, Dan Lennox and chef Nick McGregor.
The partners hired a successful pizza operator from Los Angeles to show them the best recipe and method.
"The dough goes through a 40-hour fermentation and the tomato sauce is made daily, so it's all super fresh," said Russell.
Pizzas are made New York style, thin crust and 16-inches with fresh toppings.
Pizzas are priced between $24 to $31. They also sell chopped and Caesar salads, cheese bread, dips, soft drinks, ice cream sandwiches and giant sour keys.
Pizza can be ordered online through the website: laterpizza.com or by calling 705-443-8433.
Hours are Tuesday to Saturday noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday noon to 8 p.m. Closed on Monday.
Hours for Endswell beer are the same, with the exception of closing at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
The two businesses create a casual, indoor gathering place for people of all ages. The location also features a year-round, licensed, dog-friendly patio with bicycle parking because it's adjacent to the Collingwood waterfront Trail.
“You can get a pizza and a six-pack to go or you can come and sit in the taproom and order a pizza to share,” Kaluzny said.
