Couple finds business success by combining their two loves – beer, baking

Rachel Sankey

Staff

August 5, 2024

WAUSAU –  Leah Hoelter said starting a business where both she and her husband Erich could indulge in their passions and share them with others has always been a dream of theirs.

Erich’s passion, Leah said, is with independent, craft beer.

“Erich worked in retail management and for beer distributors for many years…,” she said. “He’s been active and learning everything he can about the (independent craft beer) community for more than 10 years. He loves to brew beer, he loves to learn about how to make beer and why beers taste the way they do.”

Leah said her passion lies with baking. 

“I’ve always loved baking,” she said. “I’ve always loved making people happy with the things I make… (I enjoy filling) everybody’s hearts and bellies.”

After 10 years of dreaming, the couple said this year, they decided to finally put their plans into action.

“We thought, ‘why not finally get our dreams off the ground and combine our loves and see if everyone else in the neighborhood likes cookies and beers, too,’” she said. 

And that, Leah said, is how Glass & Grain House got its start.

Finding the perfect space

The couple said the ball started rolling with their transition to taphouse/bakery owners rather quickly.

“With Erich being in retail management – and around Christmastime, it’s so stressful – he was like, ‘I can’t do it anymore,’” Leah said. “So he left, and the next week we signed a lease for our space.”

Leah said it all came down to the right time at the right place – and in this case, the right place was located at 1702 N. 6th St. in Wausau. 

“It’s a corner of a building – we share the building,” she said. “It has this massive bank of windows in the front… it was perfect.”

The space, Leah said, was already “completely open,” which meant when it came to renovations, there wasn’t much to do.

“We did some painting, we had to redo the ceiling to make it safe for our tenants who live above us, and we added our bar and plumbing and all of that,” she said. 

Though the couple previously ran their own soap-making business, Leah said they’ve never had their own brick-and-mortar – which made the process more nerve-wracking.

Thankfully, she said the City of Wausau was “great to work with.”

“We were nervous about the inspections and everything like that, but they were so helpful,” she said. “It wasn’t as scary as we made it out to be.”

Leah said she and Erich were also able to get a license where they can sell beer for both on-site and off-site consumption.

Glass & Grain House, she said, officially opened this past June.

The beer

At Glass & Grain House, Leah said she and Erich only serve independent craft beer that’s certified through the Brewers Association.

“That is the main thing for us,” she said. “No parent company. We like to find amazing beer and breweries that deserve a shout-out. Beers that are so good and underrated.”

Customers can expect to find beer from breweries such as Cocoon Brewing out of De Pere, Drekker Brewing Company in Fargo, North Dakota, Dangerous Man Brewing Company out of Maple Lake, Minnesota, and 903 Brewers in Sherman, Texas.

“We have many slushy-style beers, smoothie-style beers and we have multiple pickle beers,” she said. “We look for funky.”

Leah said there’s something for everyone at Glass & Grain House – even for those who don’t drink alcohol.

“We have craft sodas and non-alcoholic options,” she said.

Glass & Grain House, Leah said, offers both draft and canned beers.

“(With) cans, you can have (them) here or take them home,” she said.  

Starting in December, Leah said she and Erich will also be starting a brewery of the month promotion.

“(We will) load up on their products and their merchandise,” she said. “We hope to get some reps from the breweries to come and talk about what they do and help educate people on different things (around beer).”

The baked goods

When it comes to baked goods, Leah said she bakes all the goodies customers can choose from each day.

“Sourdough is a passion of mine, so I make sourdough soft pretzels, which we serve warm with cheese and mustard,” she said. 

Leah said she also makes a different focaccia flavor every week – such as a hot dog focaccia and a date, caramelized nuts and gorgonzola focaccia. 

“(I) load up bread with good stuff,” she laughed.

In addition, Leah said she bakes cookies, bars and a Basque cheesecake – which she said has been a huge hit since opening.

Leah said she changes up the baked goods menu each month.

“I try to do seasonal (flavors),” she said. “Right now, I have a bunch of berry cookies and bars.”

Leah said it’s also important to her that if she’s making the same baked goods for the entire month, “I want to have fun making it.”

“We both want to have fun, and if patrons love it, then all the better,” she said. 

In the future, Leah said she hopes to add sourdough loaves to the menu.

‘Your aunt’s den’

Since opening, Leah said, everyone “is blown away” by what they’ve done with Glass & Grain.

“Everyone immediately understands you are in your aunt’s den,” she said. “They love that cozy vibe with our vintage furniture… People love our decor, which is nice after planning it for so long. They love the vibe.”

The open commercial kitchen space in the building, Leah said, allows her to chat with customers while she’s baking.

“People can sit at the bar while I’m rolling our pretzels and warming them up,” she said. “The oven, the cooking space – everything is all open.”

Glass & Grain patrons, Leah said, can typically be seen hanging out, having a beer (or two) and playing a board game.

“I don’t want (people) to feel coming in that the beer is screaming at you… It’s not the focal point,” she said. “We want to be a space that people can hang out – putting (the idea) of a public house back into the bar scene.”

Glass & Grain House, Leah said, doesn’t have the usual bar atmosphere.

“It’s typically quieter,” she said. “It’s like a mashup of a coffee shop and a bar.”

Leah said it’s also important to note the public house’s hours differ from most other bakeries in the area.

Glass & Grain House is open from 2 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Saturday.

“We’re night owls – and there are so many good bakeries around town that do the early morning (hours), so it’s perfect,” she said.

The later hours also allow people to grab a baked good on their way home from work or if they have a late-night cookie craving. 

“It’s needed – people love sweets any time of day,” she said. “It is nice having the option available – now you can get a cookie at 10 p.m.”

Neighborhood events

In addition to various board games Glass & Grain House offers, Leah said she and Erich also recently held their first trivia night, which she said was a great success.

“Tons of people from the neighborhood showed up – we were honestly blown away,” she said. “It was nice. We plan to do trivia every week.”

With the great turnout they had for trivia, Leah said craft nights, board game nights and a spelling bee bracket will hopefully be in Glass and Grain House’s future.

“We’re very open to any kind of event,” she said. “People keep suggesting live music, however, we have residents above us and not a lot of insulation, so we don’t want to make anybody upset.”

Customer response

The response since opening in June, Leah said, has been nothing short of fantastic.

“We have regulars now,” she said. “The first time we noticed people who had stopped in (now) coming back – we were so excited. They mean so much to us.”

To learn more about Glass & Grain House, follow its Facebook page.