Jackie O’s is a staple in the Athens community as well as the Ohio brewing community. They have been Athens’ only microbrewery until this year and are continuing to grow their business.Starting with a small pub on Union Street they have expanded to become quite the operation.They opened a Public House right next door to the pub and turned the pub into the Jackie O’s Brewpub. Since that expansion they have opened their own farm and the Jackie O’s Taproom on Stimson.
In November 2014 a devastating fire blazed through Union Street taking down the well-known bar and venue The Union and damaging the kitchen and Public House owned by Jackie O’s. They quickly got on their feet and reopened the Public House for live music throughout the week and special events. The kitchen staff has moved back into their old kitchen in the Brewpub to keep up their top-notch food menu which uses many local ingredients grown at the Jackie O’s Barrel Ridge Farm.
Jackie O’s is a favorite to many locals and college students because of their high quality craft beer and delicious food. They also make all of their own bread and baked goods to use in their pizza and sandwiches. These baked goods are available at the Athens Farmers Market which runs every Saturday morning on East State Street.
This business has embraced the culture in Athens and changed it for the better along the way. The employees will make you feel right at home and pour you up a freshly brewed beer, take your order, and even offer suggestions. There are usually a number of the guys that work for the company at one or more of their three locations to talk about brewing or farming or to just have a friendly conversation with.
