Two Northern Kentucky favorites are joining forces on a new location in Covington.
Ludlow-based Bircus Brewing Co. and North South Baking Co., which currently operates out of Newport’s Incubator Kitchen Collective, have paired up to share space at 39. W Pike St.
The building will act as a second taproom for Bircus, which has been specializing in both crafting beer and hosting circus performances (hence the name “beer-cus”) since 2016. They’ll operate the building at night, while North South Baking Co. bakes and serves pastries there during the day. North South Baking Co. will also prepare desserts for the brewery and share the kitchen with Bircus’ in-house Bircus Pizzeria, which the brewery opened in 2020 with the help of an Italian chef.
“There’s going to be beer flights and dessert flights,” says Bircus’ “Chief Goof Officer” Paul Miller in a release. “It’s going to be killer. Our collaboration is very thorough.”
In 2019, Nycz announced plans to open a bakery in Ludlow, which is still on the docket according to the release from Bircus, as she views “the arrangement as a steppingstone to North South Baking Co.’s future HQ in Ludlow.”
But for now, the Covington storefront will allow her space to bake, package, store and sell her goods. And, as she writes on a Facebook post, help provide funding for future expansion.
“I am so happy to welcome our customers into a retail location for North South Baking Co. I appreciate everyone who has supported us over the past four years; during all of the transitions NSBC has seen — from a home kitchen in Cincinnati to the Incubator Kitchen Collective in Newport, and now to a brick-and-mortar pastry shop in Covington,” says North South Baking Co.’s Kate Nycz in the same release. “I have always been blown away by the community who shows up for us every Saturday, year round, at the Hyde Park and Covington Farmers’ Markets and am very excited that we will be able to bake five days a week for them now.”
Bircus says there isn’t an opening date slated for the new outpost yet, and both the brewery and North South Baking Co. are “focused on cutting through red tape, securing funding, and bringing North South’s stand-alone bakery to fruition in Ludlow.”
The new location will announce more details once licensing and permits have been approved.
Follow North South Baking Co. at facebook.com/northsouthbaking and Bircus Brewing Co. at facebook.com/bircusbeer for details and announcements.
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This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 9, 2021.