KALAMAZOO, MI — Bell's Brewery Inc.'s Eccentric Cafe in downtown Kalamazoo will be expanded into a full-service restaurant by 2015, Bell's officials said Tuesday.

Construction has begun on the new full-service kitchen and dining room at the cafe, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. It will add about 130 seats and will occupy more than 6,600 square feet of space that has been used as storage and warehouse space to the east of the original cafe.

"Our goal is to match and even enhance the high quality beer that is already being served with high quality food and service," said Jason Reicherts, Director of Retail at Bell's.

Reicherts said the staff training program will include the latest news in craft beer to food and beer pairings.

"We will be focusing on both the front and back house experience and with our Inspired Hospitality program, service will be a huge focus," he said.

The cafe's new menu will feature fish and chips, burgers, fresh ground burgers from beef and other meats, salads, smoked meats, steamed mussels and eggs "prepared in a variety of ways," according to a press release.

"We will try to source our ingredients locally whenever we can, but our focus will also be non-GMO and organic foods, said Jason Reicherts, Director of Retail at Bell's. "Quality is the top priority, no matter where it comes from."

The dining room will include a gas fireplace and a mosaic-tiled floor. The bar in the original cafe will be expanded into the space where the 150-square-foot kitchen currently is. Other expansion plans include an employee area for the cafe's 120 employees and additional parking options.

The space for the future dining room and kitchen was part of Bell's original brewery and, before the brewery, was a full-service gas station. Local architect Nelson Nave, structural engineer Nehil-Sivak and construction company Maxwell & Associates are working on the expansion project.

Weekend brewery tours of Bell's original brewery will be stopped during construction. Tours at the Comstock brewery have been expanded to 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays and a third tour has been offered at 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Bell's is hosting a career fair Oct. 25 at the Comstock brewery, in part to hire employees for the expansion. Bell's officials are looking to hire 100 employees from that career fair.

Emily Monacelli covers local government and beer for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Contact her at emonacel@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter.