Penguin City Brewing Co. has begun renovations at its downtown Youngstown facility, including work on its ballroom, in a project the brewery expects to wrap up by spring 2027. The upgrades will touch both the taproom and the ballroom, with new restrooms, improved accessibility and a refreshed look for the event space among the changes underway.
The renovation addresses a practical headache for anyone who has booked the venue for a wedding or event: ballroom guests currently have to use lower-level restrooms, according to cleveland.com. That's changing with restrooms being added within the rear ballroom area for easier access, the outlet reports, alongside a new design for the back wall meant to freshen the room's aesthetics.
Accessibility is also central to the project. A wheelchair lift is being added to the brewery's second level, per the same report. Penguin City is owned by Aspasia Lyras-Bernacki and Richard Bernacki and rents its ballroom space for weddings and other events, a space the brewery's own site lists as accommodating up to 1,000 guests with a minimum draw of 300, according to Penguin City Brewing Company.
Contractors and Timeline
The renovation is being led by MVP Contracting, with Annissa Neider of A Neider Architecture working on the project, according to Business Journal Daily. That outlet reports the work covers improvements to the taproom and ballroom, encompassing restrooms, accessibility upgrades and event-space updates, with completion targeted for spring 2027.
Penguin City occupies 37,000 square feet at 460 E. Federal St. in downtown Youngstown. The brewery contract brewed its beer starting in 2018 before opening in its current historic industrial property, though accounts differ on the exact year: cleveland.com reports the brewery opened in 2022, while The Vindicator has reported it opened in 2021 at the former Republic warehouse downtown, according to The Vindicator.
A Second Round of Public Support
This isn't the first time the brewery has leaned on outside funding and local approvals to expand. Penguin City received $700,000 in funding from Ohio's biennial capital budget in 2024, with that earlier announcement describing plans to construct restrooms for the banquet center, pave the remaining portion of the parking lot and provide additional handicapped accessibility, The Vindicator reported.
Youngstown's board of control also finalized a 75%, 10-year property-tax abatement for Penguin City to help offset costs for a $700,000 expansion, with those plans including accessibility improvements and restrooms for the banquet center, The Vindicator reported at the time. The current round of construction appears to build on that groundwork, though the brewery has not detailed how the two funding efforts connect.
Penguin City has indicated there's more to come: additional renovations and enhancements will be announced, according to cleveland.com's report. For now, the brewery is focused on getting the ballroom's restrooms, accessibility features and overall look updated before the targeted spring 2027 finish.
