The building was originally built as the home of Thomas Watson, the proprietor of the Webster Tannery, circa 1851. Dr. Abraham Groves converted the building into a flour mill after the tannery went bankrupt. He later installed two generators and steam boilers, converting the mill into a electrical generating plant in 1890, which provided power to his hospital, the lights along Main Street and a number of businesses in town. As far as is known, Dr. Groves was the first man to transmit electricity between two towns in Ontario when he extended service to Elora in February 1900. Ontario hydro took over service to the town in 1910.
The building has since served as Jack Twedle’s chick hatchery, the Fergus Police Department, the house of Brougham and eventually was divided into several smaller businesses and residential units. In 2000. the building was purchased by Carlos and Sidonia Madruga. Mike Mackay then leased and renovated to open the Groves Mill Brew House & Inn. The pub remained within his family until 2011, when the current owners, Katherine Brasch and Jim Silburn purchased the business from Claudia Hine. In 2011, the name change to “Brew House on the Grand” was in keeping with past name changes so that it will forever remain “The Brew House”, while celebrating the beautiful location on the river.
We sat on the patio for a while but found it too chilly (16C/15C with the windchill) so we went inside.
Gord ordered Spicy Black Bean Soup and a Ribeye Fajita Wrap.