Back to their roots: First Big Woods location to reopen as Quaff ON! Pour House

The Original Big Woods restaurant on Molly’s Lane will reopen as Quaff ON! Pour House this year. Submitted

Near Molly’s Lane in Nashville stands the original timber frame building that once housed The Original Big Woods restaurant.

In just a few weeks that building will open its doors once again under a new name: the Quaff ON! Pour House. The new business will “embrace the brewing roots that started it all while highlighting the Quaff ON! Brewing Co. branch of the BWQOHT, Inc. brand family,” according to a press release.

“Since the beginning, we have always said, ‘If we please ourselves, we’ll please other people,’” company co-founder and executive chairman Jeff McCabe said. “Well, it pleases us to reopen our original location with a focus on the beer and the traditions that made us what we are today.”

Big Woods Restaurant Group, LLC will run operations for the Pour House, which will become the first dedicated showcase and tap room for Quaff ON! since its 2012 founding.

The space has been updated with additional taps and will serve up not only favorites like Six Foot Strawberry Blonde and Busted Knuckle Porter, but more limited brews, like those from the barrel-aged Woods Abide program and other favorites from the Quaff ON! archives.

In addition to beer, the venue will also offer craft spirits from sister brand Hard Truth Distilling Co. and an appetizer-centered menu developed by the Big Woods Restaurant Group team.

Like its predecessors, the Quaff ON! Pour House will be a 21-and-older venue.

A pint of locally made brew from Quaff ON! The Pour House on Molly’s Lane, which is set to open soon. The location in the middle of Nashville once housed The Original Big Woods restaurant. Submitted

The iconic space, tucked into an alley at the intersection of Honeysuckle and Molly’s lanes just off the main tourist streets of Nashville, will offer indoor bar and table seating, as well as seasonal outdoor seating.

“It’s exciting to finally see Quaff ON! have a dedicated gathering space to share with the public,” co-founder and original brewer Tim O’Bryan said. “I’m looking forward to sharing a pint or two there with old friends and new.”

BWQOHT, Inc. is the parent company of Big Woods Restaurant Group, Quaff ON! Brewing Co., and Hard Truth Distilling Co. — all based locally in Nashville.

Founded in 2009 under the Big Woods Brewing Co. name, the company quickly grew to several restaurants operated by Big Woods Restaurant Group, an independent distribution brewery by the name of Quaff ON! Brewing Co. and Hard Truth Distilling Co.

Big Woods Restaurant Group currently operates five Big Woods restaurants, two Big Woods Pizza restaurants, one Hard Truth bar, and food and beverage operations at the Hard Truth Distilling Co. destination campus. The combined companies employ more than 600 people throughout the state of Indiana.

An additional Big Woods restaurant and a Hard Truth bar are slated to open at the Keystone Fashion Mall in spring 2022, as well as the Quaff ON! Pour House.

Quaff ON! Brewing Co. brews more than 40 craft beers, including Busted Knuckle and Six Foot Blonde and distributes throughout the state of Indiana.

Hard Truth Distilling Co. is Indiana’s largest craft distillery, producing spirits like Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum and critically-acclaimed Hard Truth Sweet Mash Rye Whiskey. Hard Truth currently distributes products to 11 states, with six more coming online in the near future, and welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to its destination campus in Brown County.