By The Brewery

 A Nice Alternative

A couple of weekends ago, I went Downtown for breakfast and a haircut. Initially, I intended to go to the Arcade Restaurant for an omelet but a part of me wanted something different. After doing a quick Google search, I came across By The Brewery, a small deli on Tennessee Street. Named in part after a building across the street from it that was once a local brewery, By The Brewery serves breakfast and lunch Wednesday through Sunday. Its specialty is biscuit and deli-style sandwiches that are tailored to be quick meals that satisfy the appetite while not being gluttonous. That seemed good to me so I made the short walk from the Arcade to the deli, discovering a barber shop along the way where I later got a nice trim. Unlike the Arcade, By The Brewery is very small with only few a tables. On the corner of Tennessee Street and Butler Avenue, the deli is convenient for residents of South Main who desire easy access to takeout food. When I went there, all I was looking for was a decent breakfast to get me through the day but I got a whole lot more.

The Brisket Biscuit is probably one of the best things that I ate in 2025 (and that includes the ribeye that I had at Char). The biscuit sandwich consists of tasty brisket (braised with onions and chili peppers) smothered in bacon jam that combines for a smoky sweet flavor that's incredible. The bacon jam completely saturated the buttery biscuit to the point where I couldn't pick it up by hand. Along with "Smashed Browns" that are fried potato bites that are very delicious by themselves, the Brisket Biscuit is a gourmet entrée that more people should know about. It left a very good impression on me, so much so that I returned a week later for another meal.

After doing some Christmas shopping and celebrating a friend's birthday, I realized that I missed out on breakfast (not really, for By The Brewery serves breakfast all day on weekends). Considering whether or not to eat where I was at, I decided to return to the South Main deli for another delicious meal. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed in what I got. Instead of a biscuit, I got The New Yorker, a sandwich that was obviously inspired by The Big Apple. It consists of pastrami topped with Lager slaw and spicy mustard within two slices of pumpernickel bread. If I stopped there, I would have been eating a great sandwich. As I was eating it from a takeout box (the deli was closing when I arrived), I noticed two small cups with pickle slices in them. Adding the pickle slices added a sweet dimension to the sandwich, making a great sandwich even better. Along with potato chips, The New Yorker was about as good as the brisket biscuit that I had a week earlier. In all, it was another great experience from a place that I will definitely visit again.

Website: ByTheBrewery.com