Boris Music stood on Lorain Avenue, oblivious to the rain, as he stared straight ahead at the parking lot – bellowing in his gravelly baritone, dramatically motioning with his hands as if they were drawing the plans he’d dreamed of for years.

The dream took a big step toward becoming a reality on Wednesday.

Music and partners all the way from Slovenia broke ground on a $3 million project that will transform Hansa Import Haus, in Ohio City, into a renovated store, restaurant and brewery.

Music will specialize in European cuisine and will be the American point man for Lasko, the largest beer producer in Slovenia. The complex, which includes a new building on the parking lot at Lorain and West 28th Street, is scheduled to open in October.

Cleveland boasts the largest Slovenian population outside of Slovenia. But that wasn’t a significant factor in getting the recipe and rights for Lasko, named after the small town in eastern Slovenia where it is made.

“At first, they wanted to do something in Chicago,” said the 55-year-old Music, who took over Hansa Import Haus in 1980. “But I told them, ‘Cleveland is a big village, but a beautiful village, one that is located within 600 miles of 70% of America’s population.'”

The groundbreaking was attended by Lasko vice-president Matej Oset, as well as Jure Zmauc, the Slovenian consul general in Cleveland.

“What happened [Wednesday] is less about business than getting people excited – both our guests from Slovenia and the people in Cleveland,” said Music. “Our partners were excited to see this taking place in a vibrant neighborhood like West 25th Street.”

Music will be the fourth brewer in the area, joining Great Lakes Brewing Co., Market Garden Brewery and Nano Brew Cleveland. The project will bring 20 new jobs to the area, according to Kathleen Knittel, of Ohio City Incorporated, which shepherds development in the area. Music expects to hire a minimum of 25 new workers, but is proposing 60.

The project also marks a new push down Lorain Avenue, said City Councilman Joe Cimperman.

“We’re moving beyond West 25th Street and creating a larger artisan district with the West Side Market in the middle of it,” added Cimperman. “Hansa will be more than a bar or a restaurant; it will create a product that will be exported all over North America, focusing on cities with large Slovenian populations – Milwaukee or Michigan or Montreal.”

Cimperman accompanied Mayor Frank Jackson on a trade mission to Slovenia in May 2011, when the brewery idea first came up.

“The mission to Slovenia has been the most productive of all the foreign trips,” said Cimperman, who is of Slovenian descent.

Sam McNulty, owner of West 25th bars Market Garden Brewery and Bier Markt/Bar Cento, has been assisting Music with plans to build the brewery.

“I see Boris as a friend, not a competitor,” said McNulty, who was at the groundbreaking. “He’s bringing something different to the area, because it’s a European brewery. It also brings us closer to turning this into a brewing district.”

McNulty imagines brewery tours as a tourist attraction. Music is thinking of something even bigger.

“I would love for us to have an Oktoberfest here,” said Music. “Where we can close off some streets and throw a big party – I’ve dreamed of that for years.”

Such a dream would’ve seemed crazy when Music built the chalet-style building in 1982. He knows because many people told him he was crazy.

“Back then, I needed a fortress, not a building,” said Music. “I put bars on the windows. There was dope and prostitutes all over the neighborhood. I got robbed and beaten up and had my place broken into so many times.”

“Now I see people walking the streets and there’s life at night, like back in Europe,” he added. “And I’m doing what I’ve always dreamed of – and I'm thankful I stayed, because I’m part of something really good happening here.”