Historic Jefferson St. building reopening as a German-themed brewery.
By William Smith
When Kathy Bentz and her husband Brandon purchased the Scotten and Gabeline buildings nearly two years ago, they inherited a mess.
“I mean, upstairs, there were 75-gallon buckets everywhere to catch the water coming from the roof. There was trash everywhere. The elevator didn’t work,” Brandon said.
The Scotten building was constructed in 1912, and the Gabeline building was built in 1915. The two buildings hosted countless businesses and organizations over the next century.
Despite the dilapidated condition of the upper floors, the bottom floor still hosted several businesses — including Starr’s Asylum Tattoo shop —when Kathy and Brandon purchased the building in November 2021. Those businesses have since vacated.
“I’m amazed the roof didn’t fall through the first floor,” Brandon said.
As the owners of Fusion Tech Inc. — a USDA-inspected facility that builds food processing equipment in Illinois — Kathy and Brandon were in a position to take on such a large project. Kathy’s late grandfather left land to the couple, which they sold to purchase the building at 724 Jefferson St.
Two years later, The Busted Cup Brewhouse is close to completion. A grand opening is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 19, and everyone is invited.
Bentz didn’t specify how much went into the renovation of The Busted Cup Brewhouse — other than a lot.
“Millions,” he said.
That’s evident after walking through the door. A huge, open dining area with a bar greets visitors, with tables that have arcade machines or iPads built into the glass tops.
Next to that is a market that will sell many of the specialty German foods on the menu. German beer is a big focus, and the large brewery can be glimpsed through a glass window upon entering.
“If you can eat something at our restaurant, then you can buy the ingredients here so you can make it at home,” Brandon Bentz said.
Large painted ads — duplicates of vintage Burlington business ads — are painted on the bare brick on the right side of the building. The artist, Niki Cox, has painted several other murals across town.
An outdoor patio area will soon have paved parking nearby for employees, and the kitchen and full restaurant will be on the second story. An elevator with a digital display takes guests up and down.
All beers will be brewed on-site. Bentz said he’s pretty sure the large building — which has couches and other casual seating on one half of the second floor — will be one of the largest hangout spots in Burlington.
With so much space and two floors to host patrons, Bentz is hoping to offer an experience for adults and families. The building has five additional retail business spaces and two Air BnB apartments.
“It will be a place of fellowship for the community. We want this open to families,” he said.
FusionTech works with food producers to develop products for sale in the market — some of which they have already tested at the Jefferson Street Farmers Market.
Brandon said The Busted Cup was born strictly from the couple’s love of the historic building. Brandon and Kathy are regulars at Wake and Bake across the street, and their interest has grown over time.
They finally made the leap and bought it.
“We weren’t looking for a building to put a business in,” Brandon said.
The goal has always been the same. Build a bar/restaurant with a German theme that Brandon or Kathy would frequent themselves — even if they didn’t own it.
“We wanted to give something back to the community,” Brandon said.