Bottoms Up

OK, here’s a news flash: Schooner’s Grille & Brewery, the primo brewery-restaurant out in Antioch (suburban San Francisco,CA) has been sold.

Craig Cauwels, Schooner’s brewer, who is one of the original owners, says the new owners are Frank and Tina Jiminez, of Gilroy, CA., doing business as Classic Restaurant Management Inc. Cauwels said Jiminez owns pizza parlors and was associated with BJ’s, the pizza chain, before it began opening brewpubs. The price was not disclosed.

Schooner’s founders Craig Cauwels, left, head brewer, and managing partner Shawn Burns with medals they won last October at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

Photo credit: Gregory Daurer/Denver

“They have the money to do things like enlarge the bar area and do other things we couldn’t afford to do,” Cauwels said. Most of the current staff including Cauwels, as head brewer, and floor manager Gary Craven will stay on.

Last day under the founding owners is this Wednesday, Jan 16 (2008) and beginning at 7 p.m., there’s gonna be a blow-out goodbye party with live music.

By the way, the current Schooner’s is going out with some great beer; there’s a new IPA that people tell me is dynamite. Craig has a new barleywine as well; they’ve won a ton of awards including a Great American Beer Festival bronze for anearlier version of Old Woody. Old Woody was best of show last fall at the Bistro West Coast Barrel Aged Beer Festivbal. They’ve also won GABF gold for Oatmeal Stout.
Schooner’s opened in April 2001. Managing partner’s Shawn Burns, who was the head brewer at Black Diamond in Walnut Creek before starting Schooner’s.

Schooner’s Grille and Brewery
4250 Lone Tree Way
Antioch, California
(925) 776-1800