Pull up to Patina Porch

SANDUSKY — Patina Porch's primary purpose centers on ensuring each guest entering the one-of-a-kind property feels comfortable. "We want it to be very welcoming and family-friendly," said Heather Byington, who owns the Sandusky-based Patina Creek property with her husband, Benny. Located on West Monroe Street, formerly home to Toft Dairy, Patina Porch represents one part of the multifaceted Patina Creek. "It's a gathering place where everybody can come in, see nature and relax," Heather said about Patina Porch, which debuted in late April. The Byingtons collaborated with Derek Gangluff and Abbey Swanson to open and run Patina Porch. Meanwhile, Abbey Brunow works as Patina Porch's assistant manager. "We are a destination bar and somewhere to stop for a few before you go out for your night," said Swanson, noting it's a full-service bar. Swanson then highlighted some marquee items off the menu: • Food options place a heavy focus on flatbreads varying from dill pickle to jalapeño popper. • Drink selections consist of beer, wine, cocktails, margaritas and various specialties. Among the more popular choices include Bee's Knees, which combines vodka lemonade, soda, orange and honey jasmine; and the Palm Warbler, a play on the famous Arnold Palmer drink with peach, agave, lemonade tea and mint. Additionally, bartenders can turn virtually any alcoholic drink into a "mocktail." "We emphasize our spirit-free drinks just as much as we promote our drinks with alcohol," Brunow said. As much as possible, ingredients in the foods and drinks derive from Patina Creek's grounds through a farm-to-table concept. "It's always been a goal of Ben's to have a food forest, and he's been out here for six to seven years now building it up and scaling it up," Brunow said. Management plucks produce such as herbs, leafy greens and berries to put into the food and drinks. "Greenhouses are getting built around the area to supplement the business," Gangluff said. The entire management/ownership team welcomes people inside Patina Porch, open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. And it's open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays. People can contact the property to rent it out for private events. "Everything about it here just feels right," Swanson said. "The food and drinks are really good, and the views are amazing. There is also just so much history here." An attractive atmosphere The ambiance around Patina Porch resembles what's found around Patina Creek. Spread across the 16,000-square-foot space are products the Byingtons rescued from blighted barns, bankrupted businesses, shuttered churches and elsewhere. From wood chests to clocks, Benny and Heather spend several hours on each individual item augmenting its appearance but never comprising the original intent. Items salvaged from around the area help decorate interior and exterior space, including at Patina Porch. Most notably: • Wood for the bar came from various city buildings in downtown Sandusky. • Ceiling tiles originated from the former James A. Bertsch Jeweler & Gifts in downtown Sandusky. • A bell turned into a chandelier used to call Cedar Point home. • A propeller hanger, situated above the bar's main door, came from a World War II Navy fighter aircraft flown by Swanson's grandfather, Richard Scheiber. "A lot of times, people have a connection to these things and recognize it or remember the place where it came from, and it brings up memories," Swanson said. "And just coming here, to the old Toft's property, many customers come in here and share their memories of coming here, even when it was Otto's, and it makes them want to grab a drink and explore our beautiful property." A primer on Patina Creek For most of the 2000s, many people treated this once-vacant site as a dumping grounds, abandoning their TVs, computers, furniture and other bulky items there. The items contaminated Mills Creek. In 2016, coinciding with when they purchased this property, Benny, Heather and their six children began cleaning up the site. They restored and refreshed the area into not only a trash-free, tax-producing parcel but one with a whole new essence reliant upon old materials. Among the more noticeable pieces making up Patina Creek's foundation: • Cast-iron floor tiles — taken before a construction company demolished the former G&C Foundry plant, also on West Monroe Street — fashioned into a bar. • Barn doors, grabbed from various farms throughout the Firelands region, line ceilings, giving shape to a 25-foot archway. • Massive entry doors once belonging to Roesch Office Supplies on West Water Street help from the entryway. "I enjoy and appreciate these old materials and giving them different uses," said Benny. Everything stationed throughout Patina Creek is for sale. Whether it's end tables, wood chests, chandeliers or clocks, which fill Patina Creek's showrooms, Benny and Heather spend several hours on each individual item. "We want our pieces to be artistic but also hold its character," said Heather, who also creates handcrafted decorative wooden floral arrangements found atop and beside Patina Creek's furniture. "We want people to go through a home, and when the home ages, the piece coming from us still looks timeless." The property keeps evolving with Patina Porch and Mantiques, an art gallery, operating from there. More recently, a new program, Patina Creek Explores, teaches children about nature, and a food truck serves pork sliders. "In no way, shape or form are the Byingtons done developing Patina Creek," said Benny, mainly referencing his incomplete work on building a home for his family adjacent to Patina Creek. "We are going to keep working hard on this project to the end. We are excited about the salvaged look and what we are doing for the west end." What's in a name? People can find Patina Porch within Patina Creek. Here's how the names break down: • "Patina Creek" refers to the land abutting Mills Creek, and patina is defined by making an impression on something. • "Patina Porch" got its name because it's located outside on Patina Creek's porch.