Kathleen Culliton. Peter and Susan Yi quit their jobs in 2014 to develop their own line of cider and a sagardotegi — the Basque word for cider houses typical of the region in northern Spain — that will open in an old Bushwick warehouse on Dec. 14.
"I found something that was more meaningful, and that's cider," said Peter Yi, a former buyer for Inwood's PJ Wine, in a fundraising video. "When you drink it, and you really understand it, there's no going back."
The Yis raised more than $28,000 to build up the 12,000-square-foot Bushwick ciderhouse — installing a large bar, two cidery rooms stocked with barrels of raw cider from Spain, and three dining rooms — where they plan to showcase more than 100 ciders from across the globe and from their own Twin Star Orchards in upstate New York.
Guests will try raw cider from big wood barrels during guided tastings that will be paired with a five-course meal of classic Basque fare — such as cider-braised chorizo, dried ribeye and baccalao, or cod — served family-style at communal tables.
The meaty-menu costs $37, the vegetarians will pay $32, but gluten-phobes, beware: "Bread is your plate," according to a press release. Lighter fare will be available at the bar — along with a full menu of not-apple-related booze — and will include jamon, marconas, olives and cheese.
The siblings picked Brooklyn as the spot for their massive eatery — which they describe as Spain's answer to the German bierhaus — because it's the borough where they grew up, they said.
"We wanted to do this in Brooklyn," said Susan Yi, "where people are interested in small batch, all natural production and things that are focused on process."
Peter Yi added, "It's going to feature the hundreds of ciders that have moved me the most."
Information about how to reserve a table can be found on the Brooklyn Cider House website.
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