The Historic and Design Review Commission meets at 3 p.m. today at the Development & Business Services Center (first floor), 1901 S. Alamo St. And there’s a smorgasbord of downtown-related items. This one is quite delish:

Pinch me, please… and now to the news:

An actual real-life brewpub, meaning an establishment which brews beer on sight, called The Granary is poised to open in the small white house located in the Pearl complex at 604 Ave. A. The dream of two brothers in their 20s, the restaurant and brewery is envisioned as a destination for beer, yes, but barbecue, too.

Tim and Alex Rattray are close to signing a lease, and expect to open in August, if not sooner.

“If there is a motto going into this, it’s that we’re going to do it right or not do it at all,” Tim Rattray said.

Alex will brew the beer, and Tim handle the barbecue.

Alex is looking to serve about four house beers at all times (from light to dark) and then offer a couple additional craft-style seasonal brews. There is the possibility of partnering with other breweries. For example, the Austin-based Live Oak Brewing Company lager is something they’d like to serve; because of time constraints, they probably won’t be able to brew their own lagers.

On the food side, Tim, having worked under Bruce Auden (Biga on the Banks) and Andrew Weissman (Il Sogno Osteria and The Sandbar), plans to serve traditional, market-style Texas barbecue during lunch  a get-in-and-get-out kind of service.

For dinner, Tim wants to slow things down, to where a hostess would seat you, and the options expand dramatically to worlds beyond Texas barbecue  incorporating low-and-slow and high-heat styles. And all done using humanely-raised meats and locally-produced ingredients.

“My brother and I both grew up in England,” Tim Rattray said, “and we grew up eating a lot of ethic foods.

“We’re really hoping to be part of a move in San Antonio that elevates people’s expectations for what you can get (at restaurants). We can start demanding more.”

The brewpub’s name has double meaning  to incorporate the grain aspect of brewing beer, as well as the fodder of animals eventually turned into tasty smoked meats. And in the Rattrays’ minds, they are equals.

“To us they’re hand in hand,” Tim Rattray said. “The beer is tailored for the food and the food is tailored to go with the beer.”

The building itself is small, but Rattray said it will work. The brothers expect to seat 70 people at lunchtime, and about 100 during dinner. Plans call for adding a porch, and extending the building west.

“As far as the atmosphere and ambiance, we wanted to do something that’s more urban slanting to contrast with the outside of the building,” Tim Rattray said. “When people come in, we really want people to feel the energy.”

Related

 Granary’s official website

 Granary’s Facebook page

 Granary on Twitter

 Click here to view agenda item No. 19.

 Benjamin Olivo

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