Good Neighbor will focus on traditional types of beer such as pilsners, lagers, cream ales and other lighter drinking beers as opposed to IPAs.

“Although we will do an IPA — we have done them — there are so many people who are doing them and they do so many of them. The market grew and is flooded with that product. But there is not a lot in the terms of the domestic beer drinker who wants to branch out, try something different. There is not a lot for their tastes,” explained Vinnie. “The reason for that is the time and money that it takes to make them. It doesn’t take any money for your pilsner drink than it does in making an ale but the time it has to sit. The time that it is not in your consumer’s glass, is money that you’re not making. I think that is why the market is flooded with IPAs — because it is a quick turn around for brewer and the brewery.”

Along with brewing their own beer, the Kishbaughs plan to stick to primarily being a draft house and have bottles and cans made available for patrons. Before any consideration is made on distributing their own brand of craft beers, Vinnie said they would like to focus on the community first, getting people to come in and acquainted. When they are ready to sell their brews to the public, they plan on having a crowler (32 oz. can) machine if someone wants to enjoy a single beer of their choosing to take with them, sealed and ready to go. Four-packs and six-packs of their beer will also be made for carry-out.

In addition to the beers, Good Neighbor will be serving an array of different spirits and wines. They have partnered with Wigle Whiskey out of Pittsburgh and will carry a majority of their spirits.

CHASE BOTTORF/THE EXPRESS Some of the seating at Good Neighbor Craft House can be seen, although dine-in will not be available for some time.

“They don’t make a vodka or a cream bourbon, so we are going to be using Big Springs Vodka and Tallyrand Cream Bourbon (both out of Bellefonte) for that. Everything else will be from Wigle except for our vermouth, our Manhattans and Godiva chocolate liquor that is in our Good Neighbor Coldbrew,” said Vinnie. “We have also partnered with Freas Farm Winery for their selection of wines they will supply — having them on draft and customers will be able to buy wine by the glass or buy the craft.”

Food wise, Good Neighbor’s menu consists of appetizers such as pierogis, pretzels, shrimp, buffalo chicken dip, soups and an assortment of subs, pizzas and Pepsi products. Salads and feature entrees will be added to the menu once the restaurant fully opens, Vinnie said. The entrees will be rotating monthly by what is available locally.

“We are really trying to use local farms for our produce and proteins for our features… we have partnered with Key Farms out of Mifflinburg for their meats and cheeses. As the menu/features grow, we will expand to other local farms,” said Vinnie.

On top of opening a new business, by day, Vinnie is a Cullinary Arts instructor at Central Mountain High School while his wife, Kate, works in Graduate Admissions at Penn State. The two are planning to tackle their day jobs alongside having a future in the restaurant and craft brewing business.

The pair spent good portion of time going to different breweries, enjoying craft beers and seeking out something new.

In doing that, Vinnie said they have always dreamt about having their own restaurant/brewery. From that idea, they decided to pursue their dreams and began searching for a property to make their own. Of the properties they considered, Walker’s Hardware was recommended by regulars of their recently started catering company, WETSU Catering. Vinnie said it got the wheels turning for him and Kate.

“We had been doing the catering for about a year at that point. We saw what the hours were like for us, running a kitchen, so we knew it was do-able for us. But honestly a project like Walker’s takes major financial investment — if you are looking to then turn it into something else — those types of numbers were not feasible for us,” he said.

After looking at different real estate in the area, the Kishbaughs eventually found the location for their future business endeavor through Robert Maguire.

“When we came to look at the place obviously this surrounding scenery is just beautiful. Right away, I started thinking about brides walking in and seeing that in the pictures they could take and the outside events we could have,” said Vinnie. “We then came in here and looked at the building – the building was in pretty good shape. The owner had taken great care of it — updated a lot of the systems in it. Mostly had everything we would need for a startup for a restaurant already in place here.”

The building which Good Neighbor Craft House is taking its residency was formerly the Cornella Room Family Dining as well as a miriad of other businesses over the years. The Kishbaughs plan to hang the old Cornella sign up in their dining/event room.

After acquiring the property, the Kishbaughs discovered that there was going to be a lot less money involved in opening a restaurant with the building, allowing the couple’s dreams to be a reality financially. After they started talking about the lifestyle change they wanted, Vinnie and Kate both agreed that now was the right time to commit to it. Since the two have a daughter, who is a senior in high school currently, Vinnie feels that their responsibilities are getting far less, allowing them put more time elsewhere.

Having been a former Central Mountain football coach, Vinnie gained the free time he otherwise wouldn’t have from coaching through the week and on the weekends.

“I am not one to have a ton of hobbies. I used to coach football and when I coached, I really consumed a lot of my time after school and on the weekends. Then when I stopped doing it, I found out how much free time I actually had… being busy is good for me, so this is another opportunity just to stay busy for myself but also an opportunity to provide a service for a community that we live in, an opportunity to provide employment for people within our community,” he said.

Since he plans to keep his teaching day job, Vinnie enjoys what he does, especially being in cullinary.

“I have always enjoyed with students, helping develop in coaching. Now in cullinary… when you’re in the kitchen, you’re coaching on how to do things — you are coaching servers, you are coaching your bartenders in ways of providing a service. The content changes but the delivery doesn’t,” he said.

Good Neighbor Craft House opens for take-out today starting from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., however will not be open for sit-down dining yet.

The grand opening of the restaurant has no set date but will not occur until the Kishbaughs obtain their brewing and liquor licenses and are able to serve drinks as well as their own brewed drinks. They plan on expanding the types of service they can provide in the future, however. They said there is some work that still needs to happen to the bar area and once that is finished, they plan on letting people in for sit-down dining. Once they obtain their liquor license and gets okay from the state, they plan to hold a grand opening and wait for the brewing incense goes through.

“The good thing is that we will still have our liquor license and be able to serve craft beer and spirits until we are able to officially start serving our own beer,” said Kate.

Vinnie and Kate are looking at June to obtain a brewer’s license “after all things fall into place” and be able to brew and serve their own beer. Luckily for them, they already have much of the equipment in order to brew to help with the license process, they said.

WETSU Catering will still be apart of Good Neighbor as the Kishbaughs plan to have both.

“We hope to continue building on the catering as well as the dining once that happens,” said Vinnie.

For more information on Good Neighbor Craft House and a full menu list, visit www.goodneighborcrafthouse.com or call (570) 923-7191.