Vermont brewery continues its growth by adding restaurant

NORTHFIELD – A brewery that’s been around for half a dozen years now has a restaurant to call its own.

What is the place?

Scott Kerner opened Good Measure Brewing Co. in downtown Northfield in 2016, and two years later began a coffee enterprise, Carrier Roasting Co., which is next door to the East Street Brewery. His mini-empire on that block expanded June 24 when Good Measure took over the adjacent food operation that had been Cornerstone Burger Co.

Good Measure keeps the burger thing going with several smash-burger options, including the Jersey, a burger on a pork roll with American cheese and a fried egg, and the Vermont, which showcases Vermont cheddar, thick-cut bacon, mixed greens and a maple-bourbon-coffee glaze.

Kerner said his goal was that “I wanted to try to make the best cheesesteak in Vermont,” and that sandwich, known as The Measure, is on the menu. Pork, chicken, fish and veggie sandwich options abound as well.

“We decided on a sandwich-centric concept,” said chef Todd Cassell. “Basically, everything on (the menu) here is something I want to eat.” Tacos, wings, salads and hot dogs round out the bulk of the food menu overseen by Cassell. He’s a New England Culinary Institute alumnus who had been executive chef at Cornerstone Burger.

Good Measure, of course, serves its own beer. The eight beers on tap on a Thursday in early August included the popular Early Riser cream ale and a Vermont-style India pale ale known simply as Local, Good Measure’s first brew to feature Vermont-grown hops and malt.

What’s the story behind it?

Kerner’s entrepreneurial roots run deep. He launched the Three Penny Taproom in Montpelier in 2009, which became one of the state’s premiere Vermont-beer showcases just as the state’s beer scene was starting to build its worldwide reputation. Kerner has also been in on the ground floor of food-and-drink businesses such as The Mad Taco, which has locations throughout northern Vermont, and The Mule Bar in Winooski. (Cassell has worked at most of Kerner’s previous restaurants.)

Kerner sold his interests in all of those business, most recently last September when he departed from Three Penny. “It was the first time in 13 years I didn’t own a restaurant,” Kerner said.

He had been talking for a while with the owners of Cornerstone Burger Co. about taking over that space, and those talks picked up steam after Kerner left the Three Penny Taproom. Good Measure Pub & Brewery now has its own food truck as well, which Kerner said will make appearances in town at Norwich University and at brewers festivals around the state.

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Kerner said he wants a variety of price points on the Good Measure menu, one where diners can get a burger and fries for under $10 and choose less-basic, slightly-pricier options if they want something more. The same goes for hot dogs and fries, which patrons can have for the base cost of $6.

The business has seating for about 75 customers inside, 20 outside and 20 in its original taproom. Kerner is hoping the new restaurant will help turn Northfield — a military-college town not known as a food town — into a destination for hungry travelers.

“We’re trying,” Kerner said. “There’s a lot to do still in town.”

Hours and location of Good Measure Pub & Brewery

Good Measure Pub & Brewery, 17 East St., Northfield. 3-9 p.m. Thursday-Monday, with plans to expand to seven days a week in September. (802) 485-4600, www.goodmeasurebrewing.com

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Where to eat in Northfield, Vermont: Good Measure Brewing restaurant