Big Woods Restaurant Group Corporate Chef: Patrick Matthews and Big Woods Hazel Dell General Manager: Eric Edwards
B I G W O O D S R E S T A U R A N T O P E N S I N H A M I LT O N C O U N T Y Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Ellie Sophia Photography
Big Woods Restaurant Group, a company that first opened in 2009 as Big Woods Brewing Company, has grown and expanded through the past decade.
partners, and some employees who were interested in starting a new business led to the opening of Hard Truth Distilling Company and, eventually, our 300-acre distillery/restaurant/experience center at Hard Truth Hills,” Ryan says.
“Ten years ago, we opened a brewpub in a little timber frame building in downtown Nashville, Indiana,” says Ed Ryan, chief executive officer of BWQOHT, Inc. “We called it Big Woods in homage to the large timbers used to construct the building, and the wonderful forests we are surrounded by in Brown County.”
The company’s beer line is now known as Quaff On! Brewing Co., its restaurants are called Big Woods Restaurants, and its most recent sister company is Hard Truth Distilling Company. Today the company is known as BWQOHT, Inc. (Big Woods Restaurant Group, Quaff On! Brewing Company, and Hard Truth Distilling Company).
In 2012, demand for the company’s beer outside of its restaurants led to the creation of Quaff On! Brewing Company, which is now one of the largest beer manufacturers in Indiana. Three years later, a sister company was formed.
In February Big Woods leaders opened a seventh location in Noblesville on Hazel Dell Crossing. The new 7,700-square-foot location seats 250 guests, including 40 patio spots and two private rooms for party rentals.
“My chemistry background, our inspired
“Over the years we have made lots of 2020 DIRECTORY AND RELOCATION GUIDE
friends who live in the Hamilton County area as they have visited our other locations, and we are excited to get to see them more often now,” Ryan says. “We love the fact that Big Woods Hazel Dell is surrounded by all of these great neighborhoods, and that we can be part of that cool sense of place.” Chris Curtin, vice president of operations for Big Woods Restaurant Group, is thrilled to have a new Noblesville presence since the community has a nice assortment of restaurant offerings. “[Noblesville] is a growing community consisting of mostly family households, and that is what we cater to,” says Curtin, noting that Big Woods is an experience that the whole family can enjoy. “I think that’s something Noblesville was missing.” Patrick Matthews, corporate chef for Big Woods Restaurant Group, put a lot of thought into the kids’ menu.
