Adirondack Fox Brewery opens in historic Plattsburgh fire station

The old Hose House at Plattsburgh’s Oval has a new kind of call to service. Adirondack Fox Brewery opened in the historic fire station at 111 Ohio Avenue, turning a brick building that dates to around 1865 into a brewery, coffee house, and all-ages hangout instead of just another taproom.

That hybrid setup is the smartest part of the whole move. Adirondack Fox is not asking the space to live on pints alone. The brewery says it serves beer, wine, cocktails, coffee, and non-alcoholic drinks, with coffee and beer service every day and Adk Kit Pop soda giving kids a clear place at the table. Regular hours run Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. That is an all-day business model, not a beer-only room that goes dead before dinner.

Gregory Mischler is the primary brewmaster, and the business is deeply family-run. Michelle Mischler helped tell the story of how a homebrew kit that had sat boxed up for years eventually nudged the couple into brewing. Gregory’s parents, Scott and Celia Mischler, are co-owners and were heavily involved in the extensive renovations that brought the old fire station back to life. The brewery employs 10 people, which gives the opening real weight in a downtown that benefits when a place like this is busy from morning coffee through last call.

The beer story behind it still reads like homebrewing done the hard way and the honest way. The Mischlers spent about 21 years moving roughly 26 times because of naval service, and Gregory brewed that first Mr. Beer kit only after years of delay. From there, the operation grew from a turkey fryer setup to three vessels, and the couple even made beer and wine for a brother’s wedding reception. That kind of step-by-step growth is the exact arc a lot of homebrewers recognize when hobby turns into something bigger.

The setting matters too. The U.S. Oval is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Oval Historic District includes 26 contributing buildings and one contributing structure built between 1893 and 1934 as part of the former Plattsburgh Barracks. Adirondack Architectural Heritage has pointed to a broader pattern there, with craft beer already working inside adapted military buildings like Valcour Brewing in the Old Stone Barracks and Oval Craft Brewing in a former 1890s carriage house. Adirondack Fox now slides into that same preservation-minded beer corridor, and its opening weekend brought live music and food trucks, the kind of community-first rollout that makes a restored fire station feel like a gathering place again.