4204 Main Street Brewing Co. founder returns to run restaurant, resume brewing
Todd Kennedy is once again running the 4204 Main Street Brewing Co. restaurant he founded more than five years ago in Belleville.
Kennedy had stepped away from the restaurant side of the business to concentrate on expanding the brewery and canning operation he opened at 6435 W. Main St., but he has retaken ownership and day-to-day management of the restaurant and microbrewery at 4204 W. Main St.
And after a hiatus of over a year, Belleville’s craft beer pioneer will return to its roots and start brewing beer again at its original brewery located in the front of the restaurant.
Cory Sanftleben, who has been working at the main brewery, will now brew beers at the restaurant. These beers will not be canned and will only be available on draft at the restaurant. The first brew is expected to begin Friday and be ready to drink in about four to six weeks, depending upon the type of beer.
“He’s actually able to do whatever he wants,” Kennedy said of the styles of beer Sanftleben will brew.
“Some of them might be a one-time deal. … If it becomes really popular, it might move down the street to become a new core beer.”
Kennedy said the original restaurant and brewpub needs to have the brewing equipment running.
“I’m excited to actually get back into seeing our guests, interacting with people and making people happy, giving them the experience that they deserve,” Kennedy said.
The main menu will be the same for the rest of the year but Kennedy said it will be revamped after Jan. 1. Items now include seven types of steaks, bourbon glazed salmon, grilled chicken breast with a house-made bruschetta, flatbread pizzas, burgers, sandwiches and salads.
Here are some of the other changes planned:
▪ Beer school will resume. You can learn how to brew beer and then drink your creation.
▪ The local homebrew competition will be reinstated. Homebrewers can have their beer sampled by the 4204 Main Street Brewing “experts” who will choose a winner who gets to brew his or her recipe using the company’s brewing equipment. The winning beer will be offered on tap at the restaurant.
“It’s neat when you come into a restaurant and it’s your beer on tap,” Kennedy said. “There’s a lot of pride in that.”
▪ Twice a year the restaurant will randomly choose followers on their Facebook page and ask them to be on a food tasting panel to see which new items should be added to the menu.
▪ Immediately resume selling Certified Angus Beef.
▪ End the lunchtime buffet on weekdays but the Sunday brunch will remain.
Ownership change
Kennedy said he sold the restaurant business in a contract-for-deed agreement with longtime associate Bruce Corf but Kennedy said they have agreed to let Kennedy regain ownership.
Kennedy said Corf, who has known Kennedy for about 30 years and previously worked with him in the Golden Corral restaurant chain, will remain on the 4204 staff.
The restaurant had lost its liquor license for a short time but Kennedy and Mayor Mark Eckert, who is the city’s liquor commissioner, said the license was quickly reinstated under Kennedy’s name.
Kennedy initially opened the 4204 Main Street Brewing Co.’s restaurant in May 2014 and added a beer garden two years later.
Kennedy likened his situation to a football coach taking over a team that had struggled but then goes “back to basics” in a push to make the playoffs.
“That’s kind of what we’re doing here,” he said. “We’re really just getting back to who we were from the beginning, up until about a year, year and a half ago. Getting back to fun at 4204. Quality beers, quality steaks, quality service, just really giving the guests the best experience they can have, and doing what we did really well for a while. That’s kind of where we’re heading back to.”
Nationwide distribution
Seven beers are being canned in 4204’s plant that opened in 2017 in the former Mad Pricer grocery store, about 20 blocks away from the original brewpub and restaurant.
Kennedy said he and his staff are working on getting agreements to have their Off Duty beer sold nationwide under the name 10-42 because another brewery had trademarked Off Duty. The police radio code for ending a shift is 10-42 and Kennedy said a portion of the profits will be used to support first responders. If the beer gets marketed in over 30 states, 4204 has an agreement to give donations to the Gary Sinese Foundation to honor and support first responders.
Kennedy describes Off Duty as a light American lager that includes rice and corn in the recipe.
Hannah Austin will remain as the head brewer at main brewery, which also has a banquet facility and tap room.
The canned 4204 beers are currently available throughout Illinois, Missouri and Kansas.
Kennedy said he originally felt it was best to sell the restaurant business while he tried to get Off Duty sold nationwide but he has since changed his mind.
“In hindsight, the restaurant is 4204 and always has been. And now more than ever, we realized that,” he said. “So although going nationwide is important and still a priority, the restaurant itself and the community and who we are is more so.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
