New brewery in Ashland will have restaurant, outdoor entertainment area and pickleball courts

Ashland may not be the first place that comes to mind when considering a location for a more than 2-acre brewery and entertainment complex, but Tim Uryasz, owner of Ashland Brewing Company, couldn’t imagine a better spot.

“Ashland has always had a place in our family’s heart for years because we have always come here,” Uryasz said.

More than six decades ago, Uryasz’s great-grandfather purchased a small cabin near the lake at Willow Point. Uryasz made many of his childhood memories at the cabin, like watching Fourth of July fireworks burst over the lake.

The Uryasz family at one time attempted to start a small restaurant in Ashland, near the town’s business district, but the building burned down.

In 2016, Uryasz began brewing his own beers at home. Admittedly, his first batch left room for improvement. But the idea for the brewery began with his love of crafting beers and his aspirations to build something in Ashland. 

“This concept is a lot bigger than what we initially planned,” said Uryasz, who spent 10 years in athletic drug testing, overseeing the quality of testing for sports leagues like the NFL and MLB. “It just kept growing and growing and growing, and we think it will benefit the community.”

Uryasz left his day job when construction began on the 444 person-capacity venue at the intersection of U.S. 6 and Nebraska 66. The project, which broke ground six months ago, is expected to be completed in May 2025, weather permitting.

The skeleton of the structure is almost entirely built, and it is reminiscent of his great-grandparents’ cabin just up the road.

It is a perfect home for Ashland Brewing Company, he said.

The business will include a restaurant equipped with a second-floor outdoor bar area, a yard area with firepits and open grass and four pickleball courts, two of which will be indoors.

The brewery will take up 2.4 acres of the 5-acre plot, which was purchased by Uryasz with assistance from the Whitetail group, a company that has taken an interest in Ashland after constructing a housing development there.

Uryasz said the remaining 2.6 acres are expected to be filled with other businesses.

Ashland Brewing Company will be the anchor in what the city and Uryasz hope will become a new entertainment district between Lincoln and Omaha. 

“(Ashland is) the second fastest growing city in the state,” Uryasz said. “You see Gretna booming, and it’s really only going towards the middle. So we know Ashland is a hot spot.”

Uryasz is a fourth-generation Cornhusker, and his wife attended Creighton University.

While he is not designing the brewery to be a sports bar, “there will be TVs showing the game,” Uryasz said.

Flagpoles will be out in front of the building, and depending on which game is being played, both Nebraska and Creighton flags will be flown.

Besides being a place to catch the game and grab a few drinks, Ashland Brewing Company will also have activities in their yard area, like cornhole, occasional live music and a dog-friendly area.

Uryasz said the business will have “something for everybody to do, even if that’s nothing at all.”