Featured Bar Rail Project: West Rose

Learn how West Rose brought timeless charm to their establishment with brass bar foot rail from KegWorks.

Located about an hour south of Buffalo, Ellicottville, New York is a ski resort town in Cattaraugus County. Home to two popular skiing destinations as well as the Ellicottville Brewing Company, Ellicottville’s traditional busy season starts in fall as the foliage begins to change and runs through the end of the ski season.

One of Ellicottville’s newest restaurants is West Rose. It is the perfect spot to grab dinner and drinks after a day on the slopes or for brunch while exploring the shops and sights around town. You can find it right on the main thoroughfare where U.S. Route 219 brings skiers and tourists from Buffalo, its surrounding suburbs and Southern Ontario into the heart of the main village.

West Rose is the second venture for chef & owners Brad Rowell and Caryn Dujanovich-Rowell, who opened the establishment in 2019. They decided to expand into the Southern Tier after successfully launching The Grange Community Kitchen in 2016 in Hamburg, NY. Quickly becoming one of the most popular restaurants in the Western NY area.

True to their core beliefs, chef Brad Rowell and his staff source ingredients from nearby farms and producers to create their dishes. Their use of locally sourced ingredients is just part of the appeal for patrons. Like their first restaurant, West Rose features an open kitchen design, which includes a Mario Acunto wood-burning oven. Diners who sit at the open kitchen have a front-row seat to witness the magic first-hand while they enjoy their meal.

The main bar area is located in the front of the establishment adjacent to the kitchen. West Rose offers traditional bar stool seating as well as a sitting area next to a free-standing fireplace. Patrons can choose from a selection of craft cocktails, high-end wines and craft beers on tap. The second floor holds an additional bar area as well as dining space.  

When designing the bar area Dujanovich-Rowell chose KegWorks polished brass bar foot rail to tie in with the brass fixtures and draft tower that are part of the bar. It provides for a simple and timeless look that makes West Rose feel welcoming.

The owners of West Rose recently sat down with KegWorks to talk about their new venture, and how they were able to achieve their design vision.

KegWorks: Tell us about the background of West Rose and how it came to be.

Brad Rowell: We always thought Ellicottville was a great town that had a lot of fun restaurants and cool activities for people to do. We own the restaurant The Grange in Hamburg, and we thought it would be a good fit for our brand of seasonal cooking and our hospitality. We wanted to expand and come to a town we really love and present something new.

K: You came up with the design yourselves, what was the inspiration?

Caryn Dujanovich-Rowell: For the design, we always keep in mind classic, simple, timeless, and we were just keeping with that theme at West Rose. Something that we know we won’t get sick of in a few years. 

K: Did you face challenges during the design or construction?

C: We had some navigation with this bar because it has curved edges (at the corners of the bar) so we had to go back and forth a little bit about what kind of bar rail we were going to use at the base. Initially, I wanted to curve it, but then we couldn't because you can’t really curve the bar rail (to that tight of a radius) because it would pinch. We came up with this option, and it was really great.

K: Why did you choose KegWorks for your bar rail?

C: That was pretty much a no brainer. We worked with KegWorks in our restaurant in Hamburg and it was really seamless and easy. It took out a lot of the complication just by using KegWorks again.

K: Why did you go with the polished brass finish for your foot rail?

C: We liked brass because it naturally patinas over time. It’s something that we like, the timelessness of it, we like when it ages. 

K: You used combination brackets to mount the bar rail. Why did you choose them?

C: It was a design choice. I like the curve, and just bringing that element into the bar rail was interesting.

K: What was your first impression when you saw the finished product?

C: When we saw the whole bar put together, the brass with the towers, the light fixtures and the bar rail, it all just married so well into each other and it all complemented each other so well.

K: Is there anything else you’d like to say about your experience with KegWorks?

B: I think the high-quality products that KegWorks carries and the customer service makes KegWorks a company that we really enjoyed working with, and it makes for a seamless relationship.

The Timeless Charm of Brass

One of the characteristics of brass is that it develops a patina over time, usually in the form of bronze or green tarnish. This is part of the natural oxidation process and does not impact the integrity of the foot rail. Many people prefer this look for their brass foot rail because it gives it an aged or vintage look. Contact KegWorks’s team of bar rail experts on how you can add the appealing look of brass foot rail to your project.