Glen Cove natives Ben Kossoff and Mark Scoroposki, founders and co-owners of Garvies Point Brewery, are childhood friends who grew up when much of the area near Glen Cove Creek was not very child friendly. Industrial use had resulted in contamination, and ultimately the creek was designated a Superfund site which took several decades to clean up.
Fast forward to today and the creek is lined with marinas, sleek buildings with condos, and a one-mile-long waterfront esplanade with playgrounds, dog parks and bike paths. Right in the heart of this rebirth on the waterfront is Kossoff and Scoroposki’s brewery, which was also reborn this summer in a larger space with an expanded brewery and a full-service restaurant.
The two friends dreamed of having their own brewery after working together at a craft beer distributor in Brooklyn and winning the Pride of Brooklyn Homebrew Competition. In 2015, they founded Garvies Point Brewery and leased 3,000 square feet in an industrial building across from the waterfront. The next year they opened a taproom in the space. The timing turned out well as RXR Realty, a major developer on Long Island, had just broken ground on a mixed-use complex on the waterfront with plans for over 1,000 residential units along with commercial and retail space.
A New Spot for Garvies Point Brewery
The new brewery quickly developed a loyal following for its New England-style hazy IPAs, and in 2018 the founders tripled the capacity of the brewhouse by installing a 10-barrel brewing system. Then the opportunity came to build a brand-new brewery with enough space for a restaurant, on the site of a marina support building. “When RXR Realty offered us the new space we were excited at the prospects of expanding and bringing new life into the neighborhood and waterfront,” said Scoroposki.
The new 8,500-square-foot Garvies Point Brewery & Restaurant opened in June and has a large taproom with 24 taps, indoor and outdoor seating for the restaurant including a waterfront patio, a beer garden with picnic tables, and an upper mezzanine level for private events. The new brewhouse, which is visible behind the taproom bar, has a 20-barrel system, which will enable Kossoff and Scoroposki to expand distribution to bars and restaurants across Long Island and in New York City. “We will now be able to meet growing demand from existing accounts like Croxley Ales and Total Wine, along with adding new accounts,” said Scoroposki.
New England-style IPAs continue to be a mainstay at Garvies Point, including single-hop versions of Astray IPA brewed with Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe hops. The lineup also includes a line of Hoppy Fruit fruited IPAs with guava, grapefruit, and mango, and the Sour Batch line of sour ales including a sour wheat ale with Citra hops and a sour blueberry wheat ale with Mosaic hops. For fans of more traditional IPAs, Prybil Pale Ale is a West Coast-style American pale ale and Gold Coast Double IPA is a smooth hop forward beer brewed with five hop varieties. Garvies Point also brews seasonal beers including Tauktoberfest Marzen style lager, which was featured at the brewery’s second annual Oktoberfest celebration held on Oct. 9.
The full-service restaurant also focuses on seasonal foods with a summer menu that attracted marina users who would dock and dine on lobster rolls, mussels, tuna poke nachos, and fried clam strips. A new fall menu will come in November and will continue to feature crowd favorites including sushi, and for steak lovers, a skirt steak sandwich, steak frites and a New York strip steak. Bar snacks include giant Bavarian pretzels, wings, and Brussels sprouts chips, and brunch is served on Saturday and Sunday with breakfast favorites such as pancakes, French toast, omelets, and avocado toast.
Kossoff and Scoroposki are excited to be part of the rebirth of Glen Cove’s waterfront, with over 400 condos and rental apartments already occupied. Scoropowski said, “Our new location will enable Garvies Point to continue to grow creatively while best serving our customers in the community.”
Garvies Point Brewery & Restaurant is located at 45 Herb Hill Rd. in Glen Cove. For more info visit garviespointbreweryandrestaurant.com.
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher of LIBeerGuide.com.
