WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 17
BUZZ
World-renowned brewery coming to Ridgewood
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@QNS.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
Aft er more than two years of
planning and delays, Evil Twin
Brewing is set to open its fi rst
physical brewery in the world right
here in Ridgewood.
The acclaimed craft beer company,
launched in 2010 by Denmark native
Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergso, has until now created
its arsenal of at least 40 beers served
in 35 countries using diff erent breweries
around the globe. Now it aims to have its
own operation inside the former banquet
hall at 1616 George St. open sometime in
November, Jarnit-Bjergso said.
The space will not only include the
beer production and packaging inside
the building, but also an outdoor beer
garden and a year-round greenhouse
with a bar inside of it. While it was a
coincidence to end up in Ridgewood,
just two miles from his home in Brooklyn,
Jarnit-Bjergso said that once he
saw the building and the surrounding
area he knew it was the right fi t.
“Being in an area that is up-and-coming
and is changing so fast was very
attractive to us,” Jarnit-Bjergso said.
“It’s a satisfying feeling when people
say we’re going to help change the
neighborhood.”
The brewer began leasing the
building in 2016 from fellow Denmark
native Torkil Gudnason, a renowned
fashion photographer who has a studio
next door. Jarnit-Bjergso had been
looking for a possible location for
some time before Gudnason reached
out to him on a whim, he said, and the
brewery was supposed to open last
year before hitting a few roadblocks.
Even though the current Evil Twin
business model led to huge success,
Jarnit-Bjergso said this is the fi nal
step to creating the New York brand
he desires. In fact, the company will
be re-branded to its full name of Evil
Twin Brewing New York City when the
brewery launches.
Moreover, the brewery will produce
brand-new beers that will only be available
at the Ridgewood location, and
Jarnit-Bjergso hopes that will attract
his world-wide fan base to pay a visit.
“Sometimes you need to challenge
yourself, and we want to show that this
is local in Ridgewood and in New York,”
he said. “The point is to have a place to
serve directly to customers and give
them something unique they can’t fi nd
anywhere else.”
Photo by Signe Birck Photography
Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergso inside the courtyard of his future brewery on George
Street in Ridgewood.
Two-day street fair returns to Fresh Pond Road this weekend
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
As summer winds down, the
Fresh Pond Road street festival
gives Ridgewood residents one
more shot at enjoying some carnival
themed fun this season.
Sponsored by the Federazione
Italo-Americana di Brooklyn and
Queens, the two-day aff air takes place
the weekend of Sept. 8-9 along Fresh
Pond Road between Menahan and
Palmetto Streets. Thousands of people
from Ridgewood and surrounding
communities are expected to attend.
Visitors can expect to fi nd an array
of music, games, rides and food vendors
along the four-block stretch. A
portion of the proceeds go toward the
federazione’s charitable eff orts in the
community.
Festival hours are from 2 to 10 p.m.
on Saturday and 3 to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Fresh Pond Road, of course, will be
closed to vehicular traffi c during those
periods, and drivers will be detoured
to neighboring side streets including
Forest Avenue.
Additionally, residents can expect to
fi nd parking restrictions along Fresh
Pond Road in the days leading up to
the festival as vendors begin setting
up shop.
It’s the third straight year that the
Fresh Pond Road festival will run over
two days; in previous years, it operated
on four consecutive days, Thursday
through Sunday, usually on the fi rst
weekend aft er Labor Day.
The festival had been a source of
controversy in recent years amid complaints
from Ridgewood residents about
traffi c congestion, lost parking spots
and even occasional violence. Back in
2015, Community Board 5 recommended
rejection of a four-day street activity
permit for the festival’s organizers for
those reasons; the city, however, granted
File photo/RIDGEWOOD TIMES
the organizers the four-day permit.
In 2016, however, the city decided to
reduce the festival’s permit from four
to two days. The of construction of the
nearby overpass carrying Fresh Pond
Road and Metropolitan Avenue above
the Long Island Rail Road’s Montauk
branch was said to have played a key
role in that decision.
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