🔒As residents begin moving in, Berlin’s mixed-use Steele Center development lands gastropub as anchor tenant

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A Hop Haus gastropub and craft brewery restaurant will soon occupy the main floor of the new Steele Center mixed-use development in Berlin’s burgeoning transit area.

Hop Haus owner Mike Miller said the new Berlin location — his third in Connecticut — is under construction to custom design the space for his eatery. He’s aiming for an early 2023 opening, with seating for 165 patrons, creating close to 18 new jobs.

Above the Hop Haus are two floors with 16 market-rate apartments that are all leased and ready for occupancy this month.

Miller said Berlin and Steele Center were the obvious choice for his new Hop Haus, a brand that offers unique eats in a casual atmosphere and always aims to “support local.”

“With this building, it’s the perfect town, the perfect location for what we do, and Berlin takes care of Berlin,” he said, referring to the support of patrons that he experiences at his other Hop Haus spots in Southington and Plainville.

Miller believes in showcasing the work of small craft brewers, by offering 30 local beers on tap and another 40 selections in cans and bottles, along with craft cocktails.

His selections are from Connecticut and New England, including Twelve Percent Beer Project in North Haven; Fat Orange Cat Brew Co., of East Hampton; Night Shift Brewing from Everett, Mass.; Alvarium Beer Company and Five Churches Brewing, both in New Britain; as well as Litchfield Distillery and a new Up Down bourbon out of Marlborough.

His menu features locally-sourced meats, dairy and produce, he said.

Steele Center developers Tony Valenti and Mark Lovely — partners in Lovely Development Inc. and Newport Realty Group — said Hop Haus is the first commercial tenant in their new mixed-use building.

It’s one of several developments in Newport’s $17 million project planned for the Kensington Village Center/Berlin transit area.

The developers said Miller’s solid reputation and success with the Hop Haus line will attract other businesses and residents to the Steele Center complex.

Berlin Economic Development Director Chris Edge said he sees the Hop Haus as a key player in his vision of a bustling residential and commercial area adjacent to the new Berlin train station on the Hartford Line.

Nearby are Coles Road Brewing, Tavern on the Trax, Dairy Queen, and the Newport Center professional building with a salon, fitness center and local coffee shop across the street.

Berlin is building up areas where people can “live, work and play,” with easy access to retail shops, restaurants and transportation right outside their doors, Edge said.

The Hop Haus will occupy two-thirds of the main floor of Steele Center’s first building. It will also have an 800-square-foot patio that faces busy Farmington Avenue.

With more market-rate apartments planned in other buildings along Steele Boulevard, developers and town officials said it will be an attractive area for millennials or empty nesters.

“My hope is to see about five or six restaurants here, that it will be a place to see and be seen, to enjoy yourself,” with beer, food, coffee, and unique shops and services all next door or down the street, Edge said. “We want shoes on the ground.”

The Kensington Village, Edge said, is becoming a merchant-driven center where business owners are promoting themselves, supporting their neighbors and helping those in Berlin and beyond “rediscover local.”

“Little by little it’s coming together, and we need to think about people parking here, getting down there and walking around, seeing what’s happening,” Edge said. “I say to people, ‘I know you know Berlin, but you probably haven’t been here in a while, so come see what we have.’ ”