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Caston & Main Brew Yard co-owners Sharon and Ron Robinson
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With a spritz of lemon and a flick of the bartender’s lighter, the stainless-steel bar top in Caston & Main Brew Yard’s bourbon room ignites in a fiery blast as the bartender shows off one of his many tricks.
“It’ll flame and go out really quick. We can do neat things like that,” says co-owner Ron Robinson. “We put a lot of time in the cocktails.”
He has taken that handcrafted approach to making Caston & Main unique in all aspects, from its extensive menu that features largely locally sourced food and drink to its industrial chic aesthetic and massive expansion last year.
Before 2016, the corner of East Caston Road and South Main Street in Green was home to a rundown 40-year-old family-owned bar. When Robinson came across the 2-acre property adjacent to the Nimisila Reservoir, he saw past its disrepair and visualized it as an interesting place to eat, drink and gather.
“I wanted to do something different,” Robinson says. “I thought we’d offer craft beers, good food, bourbons and whiskeys with a mid-upscale twist.”
After a brief transformation, he opened Caston & Main in August 2016 — then reopened in November 2018 following three months and over $1 million of renovations. Updates to the doubled space include two new patios with fire features and spots for live music, and a bourbon room that sells eight kinds of cigars. To bring to life his vision of a modern shipyard atmosphere (hence the name “brew yard”), Robinson decked out the interior with whiskey barrels, disassembled shipping pallets, a stone fireplace and a concrete horseshoe-shaped bar.
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Chef Curtis Myers and Ron Robinson
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Ron Robinson
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Caston & Main caters to all types of drinkers with 32 rotating taps of craft beer, a variety of wine, mead and mixed drinks, and over 140 rare bourbons, whiskeys, scotches, sakes and tequilas. Robinson purchases bourbons and whiskeys by the barrel and then has them bottled, like the Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon ($8) he selected as the house bourbon for its long-lasting fruity caramel taste.
“We have some really exclusive bourbons that are very hard to get. We’re always changing them and adding more hard-to-find liquors,” says Robinson, who is excited about Hibiki, a new Japanese whisky on the menu.
The gastropub also serves up options from 330 neighbors, like Hoppin’ Frog Brewery in Akron and Lager Heads Brewery in Medina.
Many chef-inspired menu items use elements from Ohio vendors, including the brownie ($6) served with Pav’s Creamery’s vanilla. Playing off the big drink list, some dishes are infused with alcohol. Try the customer-favorite pretzel bites ($10) accompanied by beer cheese made with the house Reservoir Red ale brewed for Caston & Main. Or get the popular bananas Foster waffles drizzled with dark rum sauce ($8) at Sunday brunch. When it comes to picking a side dish, go for the potato chips shaved and fried in house with house-made French onion dip or ranch.
Despite Robinson’s lack of prior food industry experience, Caston & Main has taken off and was declared a Great Bourbon Bar of America by greatbourbon.com. He’s ecstatic to have realized the potential he saw in a neglected building.
“It’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done as far as people really appreciating a nice place to go with good food and drinks,” he says. “When you look out and see a crowd — enough said. It makes you happy.”
5010 S Main St., Akron, 330-882-2275, castonbrewyard.com
