Warehouse Gourmet Bistro and Brew Pub in Hanover, PA

Warehouse Gourmet Bistro and Brew Pub is a restaurant, brewery, and catering company located in a historic building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Hanover, PA. Over the last century, the building has been a cigar factory, a ribbon factory, a fine furniture manufacturer, a frame shop, a storage facility, Keith’s “Screaming Peacock” Studio… and now a brewpub.

Warehouse Gourmet opened on October 4, 2005, as a catering business with carry-out and delivery service. After “waiting for the right time,” the bistro opened in December 2010, which seats around 35 to 40 guests. On Black Friday of November 2012, the Upstairs Pub opened, which seats about 25 guests. With the addition of a Brewer’s License, handmade craft beers and PA wines were added to the menu.

Ten rotating beers are offered, 6 of which were on tap during our visit. A sampler of 5 beers cost $6. I enjoyed the Screaming Peacock Porter, a 5.8% ABV lightly smoked porter and the Dark, Dank and Ominous, a 6.8% ABV black IPA with caramel notes balanced with complex hop aromas and flavors. My favorite beer was the Small Town Brown Ale, a 5.3% ABV creamy and delicious brown ale.

There are three menus available. The “All Day” menu is available in both the downstairs bistro and the upstairs pub. This menu includes soups, salads, sandwiches, and a few entrees. There is also a menu of additional entrees available in the downstairs bistro after 4PM. Finally, there is an upstairs pub menu that includes nachos, wings, pizza, and shrimp and crab cakes.

As we arrived, we headed to the upstairs pub hoping to get a seat, but the small pub area was packed. We were able to get seated right away in the downstairs bistro area, however Rich was bummed that he wouldn’t get to try their wings.

Luckily his disappointment didn’t last too long, as our meals were quite delicious. Their soups, especially the Dilled Tomato and Cream of Crab were a hit along with the housemade bread. Our party also enjoyed the Roasted Corn, Artichokes and Fresh Green Bean Salad with Sun-dried Tomato Dressing, the Turkey Stinger sandwich served with bacon, cheddar and chipotle mayonnaise, and the Warehouse Gourmet Meatloaf served with herbed mashed potatoes.

The specials of the day sounded intriguing, including a Turkey, Provolone and Artichoke Pesto Sandwich served with Bleu Cheese Cole Slaw and the Backfin Crab, Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Portabella served with Pesto Cream and Fresh Tarragon Risotto.

Beer can be purchased to go in growlers. An empty growler costs $8. The first fill is the cost of 3 pints of beer, and refills cost 4 pints of whatever beer you choose. During happy hour, each pint is discounted by 75 cents.

As a side note, the Snyders of Hanover Factory Store is located only 2 miles from Warehouse Gourmet. You can tour the factory, or simply load up in snack heaven in their factory store. It will blow your mind when you discover how many delicious snacks Snyders of Hanover makes beyond pretzels.