For more than a decade, the building at 1850 N. Main Street sat vacant following the closure of the popular but short-lived Henrietta’s. Now it stands as another triumph of adaptive reuse in the resurgent commercial corridor of Springfield.
Strings Sports Brewery opened within the building earlier this year, becoming the third craft brewery within a stretch of a few blocks along Main Street. But two things set Strings apart from its neighbors.
One is its kitchen, led by executive chef Patrick Dillon, which offers elevated takes on bar-food and American classics made with fresh local ingredients.
The other is its modern take on a sports bar atmosphere. The open floor plan in the brewery’s taproom complements an array of around a dozen televisions. Against the far wall, a scoreboard and two basketball hoops are available for shooting around – two at a time, no dunking or drinking inside the mini-court. Dartboards, giant Jenga kits, and cornhole boards round out the full sports bar experience.
Out in the courtyard, the old Heritage Field scoreboard sits on display as a nod to Springfield sports history.
The brewery offers a rotating tap of five of its own brews, given names to honor its sports theme and even local sports history. Its Red Caps Red Ale is named for the Jacksonville Red Caps, a Negro League team that played at James P. Small Park. It also features a rotating collection of “away” beers.
Retractable windows on either side of the taproom allow for the space to open up significantly on ideal weather days – a relic of the Art Deco-style building’s original usage as an automobile service station.
The brewery is the brainchild of the Adeeb family, led by Scott “String” Adeeb and his sons Trevor and Colby. The family purchased the property in 2017, originally planning to turn it into a Bono’s Bar-B-Q location – Scott’s brother, Joe, is CEO of Bono’s. But when those plans fell through, the plan for Strings evolved and culminated in its debut this year.
With the Springfield neighborhood quickly evolving into one of Jax’s hippest, most popular areas, here’s to hoping Strings will stick around for a while.
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