On the corner of West Washington Street and North Shafer Street stands one of Athens’ many red brick buildings, known decades ago as the West End Tavern. Today, it is West End Ciderhouse, owned by Deanna Schwartz in collaboration with her partner, Kelly Sauber.
“The place had been empty for 14 years before we took on the project,” Schwartz said. “My partner, Kelly, was a brewer at Marietta Brewing Company and I was working at the Kennedy Museum, so I really admired this place for the historical aspect of it, and we had just dreamed about opening a brewery here.”
Sauber left his job at the brewing company in 2011 to start his own distillery, Fifth Element Spirits. Around the same time, Schwartz cut back her time at the museum to work on the administrative side of the distillery, a partnership the two still share.
“Being a woman in this industry can be challenging,” Schwartz said. “A lot of times people assume Kelly is doing everything here because he’s the man when in reality he makes the cider, he makes the spirits and we have bartenders here that serve it. I do everything else, all the marketing, all the administrative stuff.”
The pair bought the building, located at 234 W. Washington St., in October 2013 and began an intensive renovation. According to the business’ website, “they were able to restore the brick patio, the main bar (originally a 1900s post office counter from Pageville, Ohio), the ornately carved back bar and even the exposed brick walls of the century-old building.”
Somewhere along the path to opening day in May 2014, the business owners deviated from the original concept of a cost-prohibitive brewery and instead decided to further Sauber’s pursuits in apple fermentation.
“We could buy all the apples locally, whereas with brewing you can’t really do that,” Schwartz said. “We started developing relationships with orchards. The first year we used juice from our orchard, (which) was about 1,000 gallons our first year here, then pretty quickly went up to 4,000 gallons. Now we’re up to 8,000 gallons.”
The last step in Ciderhouse reaching its current form occurred in 2019 when Sauber relocated his distillery to 3 N. Shafer St. and renamed it the West End Distillery.
An affinity for craft cocktails seemed to fit seamlessly into the business’s aesthetic. Rio Ajamian has worked at the Ciderhouse since its inception, initially as a barback and eventually as a cocktail connoisseur. These upscale menu items are just a fraction of how Ciderhouse distinguishes itself among the many bars in Athens.
“I always describe this place as one of the only neighborhood bars,” Ajamian said. “Everything else is in a commercial district, we’re in a residential one. Our atmosphere is really different from other bars, we’ve got this coffee shop ambiance but you can get drunk here.”
Ciderhouse stands out in the town’s oversaturated bar scene because of its distance from Uptown Athens.
“It’s off the beaten path,” Schwartz said. “I think bars offer a sense of community, I think the Cider House is more … a grad student and professional crowd. We do get younger students in here but it’s mostly on date nights … the price point is not as cheap, we don’t do pitchers or shots or anything like that.”
The classy, yet down-to-earth atmosphere is achieved through the lighting, furniture, music and even the menu. A list of ciders, beers and meads, ranging from $4 to $10, is written in cohesive colors on a chalkboard above the lustrous bar counter. A further dive into the menu will reveal an array of signature cocktails and "small plates featuring local cheese, pickled veggies and crackers, spiced nuts and olives,” according to the business's Yelp page.
Manager Sarah Kennedy describes the establishment as offering “good craic,” an Irish term meaning “enjoyable time spent with other people, especially when the conversation is entertaining and funny.”
“I think this is a really nice third place, which is a sociological term,” Kennedy said. “If people are normally at home or work, I feel like this place is just really great for spending an hour or two each day.”
The carefully curated ambiance of Ciderhouse helps create a symbiotic appreciation between employees and customers, something Ajamian believes is a special thing to find in the service industry.
Although closed Sundays, Ciderhouse is open Monday through Friday, from 3 p.m. to midnight and Saturday noon to midnight.
“I hope it sticks around and maintains this little niche that it’s had in Athens of just being different,” Ajamian said.
