Anything But Beer provides gluten-free alternative to Syracuse community
Courtesy of Anything But Beer
Berry said she loves being able to service families with children who have diet restrictions and may not be able to enjoy other restaurants.
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Brittany Berry didn’t know what to expect when she built her gluten-free beer business from the ground up with only one person by her side. When a building in downtown Syracuse was available for rent, Berry jumped on the opportunity to open a restaurant.
Located on South Salina Street in downtown Syracuse, Anything But Beer has been serving locals, college students and tourists with dietary restrictions since 2017.
Berry and her business partner, Logan Bonney, are both Syracuse University alumni who have an affinity for the city of Syracuse and creating food and drinks that can be consumed by anyone, regardless of their dietary restrictions.
“A lot of people who either don’t like the taste of beer or who can’t drink beer because of dietary restrictions, such as being gluten-free, are feeling left out of casual drinking experiences,” Berry said. “I wanted to change that.”
At SU, Bonney studied entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, and Berry studied industrial and interaction design with a focus on user research in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
After graduating, Bonney and Berry knew they wanted to do something in the fermentable realm and began doing events and wholesale distribution with their gluten-free beer in 2017.
Before opening the restaurant in 2020, their products were in 300 locations and gaining traction at breweries around Syracuse, Berry said. ABB makes vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free food completely from scratch.
“Right before COVID hit, we decided that beer is not the only thing that is missing. People with gluten restrictions also can’t eat lots of foods at restaurants,” Berry said. “I wanted to make a restaurant where people can enjoy their life and go out because so many people are eating at home when they have dietary restrictions.”
Berry said that downtown Syracuse has a huge foodie presence. Normally, a gluten-free restaurant wouldn’t be able to survive in other small cities, but the loyal customer base proved that ABB belongs to the city of Syracuse, she said.
“Because Syracuse is such a diverse city, we are serving people with dietary restrictions across all ethnicities, income brackets and job fields,” Berry said. “We see a really wide variety of people, because we may be the only place where that person can safely enjoy a meal.”
Ania Lache, a customer at ABB, said she enjoys all of its unique alcoholic seltzer options The Fluffer a vanilla flavored seltzer or the Hydra Hibiscus seltzer.
“I’m not gluten-free or anything, but I have always thought beer is gross,” Lache said. “Anything But Beer has such creative seltzer flavors, I love the green tea and hibiscus one.”
The restaurant opened one month before COVID-19 mandated closures of all nonessential businesses, which completely changed the trajectory of ABB’s newly opened space.
Berry saw a lot of growth in Syracuse before COVID-19 shut down the entire city, she said. ABB was originally open every day of the week for lunch, dinner and late-night dining. When offices in downtown Syracuse transitioned to remote work, though, ABB had to close for lunch.
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“COVID has truly been a rollercoaster with the restaurant,” Berry said. “I think maybe three times throughout the peak periods of COVID we have had to completely close or change our business hours.”
Berry was forced to step into roles she never imagined herself in due to the pandemic. ABB started with 38 people on the team, but some temporary layoffs were made in the beginning of the pandemic.
Michael Koval, a bartender and server who has been working at ABB since July 2020, has experienced the ups and downs of working in hospitality during the pandemic. Koval remembers customers yelling at him about COVID-19 rules because every restaurant in downtown implemented its own set of policies.
“It’s been a difficult couple of years,” Koval said. “Customers didn’t always make my job the easiest, especially getting people to wear masks when they weren’t seated.”
Due to the shrunken size of the ABB team, Berry became the head of the human resources department and is currently the general manager for the restaurant, on top of being the chief marketing officer and chief operating officer.
Berry has learned a lot since stepping into the human resources role, and being able to coach people through difficult times is a responsibility she never imagined undertaking, she said.
“If you knew me personally, you never would have guessed I’m the HR manager. But I actually think I have flourished in this role,” Berry said. “It has taught me a lot about interpersonal communication and how to be more compassionate.”
Koval said that he considered quitting multiple times throughout the pandemic because of rude customers and bad reviews on Yelp. But Berry’s leadership and care for her employees has made him stay.
“She is a mama bear — Brittany looks out for us no matter what,” Koval said. “I know she loses sleep over making sure her team is taken care of over her own well-being.”
Courtney Kahler, the catering sales manager at ABB, is the newest addition to the team. Kahler joked that she was ABB’s “No. 1 fan” when it first opened.
Kahler has always been drawn to ABB because she passionately dislikes regular beer. Now that she has a position at ABB, she is inspired by Berry’s leadership skills and care for her employees.
“Brittany is a straight up boss babe, queen. She is everywhere and can do it all. Sometimes she’s in the kitchen, sometimes she’s behind the bar, and other times she is running around doing managerial work,” Kahler said.
Berry’s most rewarding days are when she ends up in the kitchen, she said. She loves doing physical work and getting feedback from customers thanking her and the kitchen staff for what they do.
“Being in the kitchen is very different from the administrative work I do. It’s really strenuous and physical, but you are actively feeding people,” Berry said. “When the wait staff comes down and tells us that a person is so thrilled and thankful for their meal, it is the best feeling.”
ABB is Berry’s “baby” because of the community she has built within the restaurant between her staff and returning customers, she said.
Berry also fondly recalled a recent high school graduate who ate at ABB with her boyfriend, family or by herself a few times a week. She said she loved to see the joy on the girl’s face when she introduced her favorite dishes to her loved ones.
“Celiac disease and dietary restrictions are very serious. When parents come in with their kids who can’t eat at any other restaurant but ours, it’s just the best feeling in the world,” Berry said.
“To know that I have provided a place where these people can enjoy their experience with food is such an incredible feeling, it is hard to express it in words.”
Published on March 22, 2022 at 10:46 pm
