Golden Road coming to Grand Central Market with brew and pierogis

The pharmacy along Grand Central Market’s west side is no longer dispensing supplements and herbs, but soon the space will be offering other ministrations in the form of craft beers offered in a tasting bar from Golden Road Brewing.

While the brand’s planned Orange County brewpub expansion is still moving forward (Golden Road founder Tony Yanow says he hopes to be brewing beer in that facility by the end of 2015), the Grand Central Market tasting bar will be the first expansion beyond the Atwater Village production brewery and pub.

The space will feature 20 taps of Golden Road’s brews, eventually including beer made at both the production brewery and the Anaheim brewpub, along with a possible GCM-exclusive beer. Snacks will also be available, and Golden Road’s executive chef Adam Levoe is cooking up a selection of pierogies. Yanow says that the food will have “more of a vegan slant” than the other vendors in the market, but the offerings will not be exclusively vegan.

Yanow and Levoe developed a love for the pairing of pierogies and beer on a visit to the Czech Republic, and Yanow says of all the people he’s talked to about the menu concept, “80% of them love pierogies and 20% don’t know what they are. Who doesn’t love a good pierogi?”

The revitalized downtown market is increasingly popular, and increasingly crowded, and it can be a challenge to find a spot to eat the great food available in the arcade. Golden Road Grand Central Market will also offer a selection of canned GRB beers and growler-fills to go, and Yanow says the menu should include plenty of takeout-friendly options in case the planned 15 stools at the bar are all occupied.

The “little outpost” is still in the design phase, but Yanow says they hope to be pouring beer in the market by the end of summer. When asked if the brewery had plans to create a Bohemian-style pilsner to pair with the pierogis, Yanow quipped that he’d love to — he just needs to convince his brewers to make a version of the “bold and chewy pils” that he fell in love with in Prague.