It’s the sweet taste of success as Yorkville couple opens Foxes Den Meadery in city’s downtown

YORKVILLE – Rico and Jenna Bianchi of Yorkville are craft beer connoisseurs who one day had their world changed when sampling mead at a festival.

“He said, ‘I’ve got to figure out how to make this,’” Jenna remembers her husband saying at the time.

Often described as a honey wine, mead has been produced and consumed since ancient times. The alcoholic beverage is made by fermenting honey mixed with water and often with additional ingredients including fruits or grains.

“There are endless possibilities of flavor combinations,” said Rico, who indeed figured out how to make mead and soon developed a loyal following for his fermented creations.

“I was self-taught. Through trial and error, I perfected my craft.”

“We have a pretty big fan base,” Jenna said.

Now, the couple have opened Foxes Den Meadery, a tap room and production facility at 101 S. Bridge St. (Route 47), which promises to become a destination for those fans.

Located in the recently renamed Riverside Plaza building owned by The Williams Group, Foxes Den Meadery is open three days a week.

The business boasts a large main tap room and bar, a second gathering spot known as The Bee Room and an outdoor deck overlooking the Fox River.

From the basement production facility, the Bianchis produce, bottle and hand-label their honey wines. More of the meads are available on tap.

The Foxes Den lineup includes both “still” and “session” meads, with the later being lightly carbonated and possessing a lower alcohol content. Apples, blueberries and cranberries figure prominently in many of Rico’s meads.

The drinks menu also includes guest craft beers, hard ciders and seltzers, and craft cocktails.

The business logo and the tap room decor feature a nod to mead’s primary ingredient.

Honeycomb-shaped shelving is used to display bottles of mead behind the bar. The Bee Room is dominated by a wall mural of the honey-producing insect.

The business has been more than a year in the making. In addition to the interior renovations and ramping up production, there was a regulatory hurdle to jump.

Last year, the Yorkville City Council changed the city’s liquor and zoning codes to accommodate the development.

Aldermen established a new classification of liquor license for micro-wineries, allowing for the manufacture and consumption of mead wine on the premises.

The Class M liquor license allows for the production of less than 155,000 gallons of beer or 50,000 gallons of wine per year for sale on the premises for consumption either at the business or off-site.

The license also allows patrons to take one partially consumed bottle for consumption off the premises and allows the tap room to sell alcoholic beverages from other manufacturers, provided these comprise less than 50% of the business’ sales.

The Yorkville Area Chamber of Commerce inaugurated the business with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 27.

The business is open from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Foxes Den Meadery joins the Iconic Coffee Shop, which opened last year next door.

Meanwhile, The Williams Group plans to open the Fox Republic Brewery in the building in about a month.

Owner Ed Williams said the coffee shop, meadery and brewery will complement each other and help make the downtown Yorkville building a destination.

Known most recently as the Investor Tools building, but best identified by the “Dickson 1954″ tablet inscribed on the facade of the brick edifice, the structure is at the northwest corner of Bridge and West Hydraulic streets, along the south bank of the Fox River.

A new sign on the south side of the building identifies the business development as Riverside Plaza.