Jackie Simmons, left, and her husband, Michael, are co-owners of Draught & Barrel.
Ben Freda | For Abington Journal
Draught & Barrel opens at the former Seasons location downtown
People dining at the bar of Draught & Barrel.
Ben Freda | For Abington Journal
An area for open mic night and local musicians to perform.
Ben Freda | For Abington Journal
The dining area of Draught & Barrel.
Ben Freda | For Abington Journal
TUNKHANNOCK — After over ten years of being vacant, the downtown spot that once housed Seasons Restaurant has been revitalized into a new establishment, Draught & Barrel. The first part of the title, which is Old English for “draft” represents the beers. The latter is the bourbon and whiskey side of things.
Lake Carey resident Michael Simmons, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Jackie, creates six of the eight beers from their brewery, Simco Brewing Company. The other two are made from other local breweries. A beer called “The Chad” is a hazy session IPA 2-row and Munich malts hopped with mosaic, citrus, and Chinook. “The Allison” is a classic English ale 2-row and crystal malt hopped with East Kent Goldings.
“We opened the brewery on our property last year,” said Jackie. “We started brewing and needed a place to sell the beer so we said, ‘Let’s open a place to sell it’.”
One of the most popular specialty cocktails is their Smoked Old Fashioned Cocktail, which has Pa. bourbon, bitters, orange zest, and cherry with cinnamon-infused smoked cherry wood. For the summer, there is the Strawberry Fields Forever Cocktail. Wines include the Niagara, which is a sweet white from Nimble Hill Winery, where Michael works as a brewer. Michael and Jackie both talked about a restaurant someday for twenty years. They were glad to help revitalize the downtown area.
“We finally just were able to pull it all together and make it happen,” said Michael. “The right place at the right time.”
Draught & Barrel serves many foods as well. The cook, Mike Geras, comes up with creative menu items under Jackie’s direction. One of the most popular is the hand-held Gouda and raspberry grilled cheese, which is made with raspberry jam on wheat berry bread. Their arugula and mushroom sandwich, toasted on sourdough bread, is also a favorite.
The menu is filled with gluten-free options such as tapas, vegetable-forward dishes, bowls, and charcuterie boards. The restaurant’s furniture is from the property of the Simmons. Jackie’s father made some of the wooden dining tables. Leather couches provide soft seating at the restaurant’s lounge making it easy to easy to watch performances of open mic night and local musicians on Thursday night.
“It’s so much fun,” Jackie said about owning a restaurant.
“It’s been a change of gears,” Michael added.
