Waiting is the hardest part.

The owners of 2 Tones Brewing Co. are living the words of the late songwriter Tom Petty while adding the final touches to their new 3,400-square-foot taproom at 4539 E. Broad St. in Whitehall.

“We knew there would be a lot of work (to open), but it still took longer than we expected,” co-owner Anthony McKeivier said while he, his business partner Tony Hill and their two full-time employees unloaded barroom furniture this week.

The microbrewery passed its final inspections March 29 and is waiting for final permits, expected as soon as the middle of April, McKeivier said.

McKeivier said the microbrewery and taproom represent the transition of a hobby into a successful business.

“I’m excited and anxious to get started. I’m ready for it all,” he said.

McKeivier, 32, and Hill, 31, met as fifth-grade students on a soccer team, then attended the same junior high school and high school in Circleville.

They became roommates at Ohio State University, where the story of 2 Tones Brewing Co. begins.

Hill discovered craft beers first, but it took a little persuasion to convert McKeivier.

“I was still drinking Bud Light and Coors, and they kept pushing me to try craft beers," McKeivier said. "They finally pushed hard enough and I tried one ... there was no going back."

Eventually, McKeivier and Hill bought a home-brewing kit and began making beer in McKeivier’s garage in Reynoldsburg. They had honed their skills well enough by 2013 to win best of show for an IPA in the Barley Brewing Co.’s home-brew competition.

In 2016, they spent $100,000 to lease their first facility at 145 N. Hamilton Road and bought equipment to begin producing 100 barrels a year.

Now the partners have invested about $250,000 to build the new 2,400-square-foot brewery and 1,000-square-foot taproom, which features space-themed murals. An additional $150,000 was invested for equipment and furnishings.

The facility does not have a kitchen, but food trucks will be available in the brewery’s parking lot at the southeast corner of East Broad Street and Santa Maria Lane.

Hours haven't been set, but the brewery is initially expected to be open Wednesdays through Sundays, with hours from lunch until about 10 p.m. or midnight, McKeivier said.

The brewery can produce about 310 gallons, or 10 barrels, a week. It produces 12 styles of beer, including its flagship Irish red ale, Uncle Joe’s, along with a double IPA, Space Lazer; a vanilla ale, Crumble; a hazy IPA, Magic Gnome; and a coffee porter, Irish Maiden.

In addition to bar taps, the beer is available in growlers — large jugs — but not yet in cans or bottles.

kcorvo@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekCorvo