Anyone driving through downtown Felton after 5 p.m. would be hard-pressed to miss the bustle of activity in the newly opened Cremer House, as the long-awaited restaurant and brewpub opened to the public on Wednesday, Dec. 3.
“It’s been so well-received,” said co-owner Emily Thomas. “We had no idea how busy we’d be right off the bat.”
The restaurant is a partnership between Thomas, who owns Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, and Bob Locatelli, who owns the building itself and the adjacent New Leaf Community Market.
Housed inside the historic Cremer Building, a former hotel and boarding house as well as one of the few surviving buildings from Felton’s early days as rough-and-tumble logging town, the restaurant’s interior has spent most of 2014 undergoing a massive remodel and modernization.
The entire downstairs area of the building, where multiple storefronts once operated, is now home to a modern kitchen, spice pantry, dining area, and pour room that offers — on tap — 21 types of craft beer, 10 types of locally produced wines, two ciders, and a homemade root beer.
While the building’s interior has been massively updated, it would be impossible to turn one’s head inside the dining area without seeing something that hearkens to the long history of the building and Felton itself.
“It’s transformed,” Thomas said. “We’ve been working on this for four years.”
The walls of the dining area are festooned with photos and images from Felton’s logging past, along with former owners of the building — all in custom frames made from old saw blades.
“The ambience this old building has created is awesome,” Locatelli said.
The most popular beer on tap? The Margaret Cremer red stream ale, named for the building’s original owner and namesake, and is brewed exclusively for the Cremer House by Margaret Thomas.
Since opening, the 42 employees of the Cremer House have worked to perfect the locally sourced menu items, which Locatelli said is part of why the restaurant will not begin offering its lunch menu until sometime in January.
“We wanted to take baby steps so we don’t step on our own toes,” Locatelli said.
The menu has numerous vegetarian options, Thomas said, adding that thus far, the most popular items have been the smoked pork chops, fried chicken, and the hamburger.
“People love that we make everything from scratch,” she said.
In the Cremer House’s case, “everything from scratch” includes condiments. Those enjoying a beer on the front patio can look into the window and see the restaurant’s “pantry,” where jars of things like homemade ketchup, mustard, and malt vinegar are prepared and stored.
Since opening, Thomas and Locatelli said, it’s been nearly packed houses every night with people coming to enjoy the food or to have a beer out on the heated deck.
“From the first night, it’s been a very social place,” Locatelli said. “The deck has been very popular.”
For more information about the Cremer House, visit http://www.cremerhouse.com
