Influencer Jennifer Todryk hosts No Demo Reno on HGTV. The show features her husband, Mike Todryk.

HOSPITALITY

HGTV pair buy brewery in Allen
A renamed Nine Band Brewing is expected to open early next year
By SARAH BLASKOVICH
Staff Writer
sblaskovich@dallasnews.com

Mike Todryk and Jennifer Todryk, who star in the HGTV show No Demo Reno, have purchased a brewery in their hometown of Allen. They’re formulating plans to turn the former Nine Band Brewing into a redesigned brewery and coffee roastery.

It’s a place with a sordid past: Nine Band Brewing was founded by Keith Ashley, who has been indicted on capital murder charges after investigators say Ashley ran a million-dollar Ponzi scheme and staged the death of a man named James Seegan. Ashley remains in Dallas County jail and is being held on $2 million bond while he awaits trial.

Mike Todryk, a West Point grad who spent five years in the military, saw a business opportunity in the beleaguered brewery. And he wants to give it a fresh start.

“When I drove by it, the wheels started turning,” he said.

“And of course when I Googled it, I thought ‘What is this about?’” he says of the crime stories that popped up.

He didn’t love Nine Band Brewing’s beer anyhow. But he’s a craft beer drinker, and he wanted to own a brewery close to home.

“We hope to bring redemption to it,” he said. “That’s one thing Jenn and I always try to do: We want to create places that bring joy, light and happiness.”

They also own Armor Coffee Co. in Allen.

Dan Bowman, executive director and CEO of the Allen Economic Development Corporation, said he’s thrilled that a nationally recognized couple from Allen is investing in their hometown. Bowman grew up down the street from where the brewery sits, at 9 Prestige Circle, and he called the Todryks the “ideal owners” for a property that needs a strategic redo.

He said he believes the Todryks are going to “breathe new life into it.”

“The past is the past,” Bowman said. “You go in there a year from now, two years from now ... I don’t think anybody’s going to even remember that [it was Nine Band Brewing].”

The Todryks are in the early planning stages for the brewery, but it will most likely be called Armor Brewing Co. to match the name of their coffee shop, which is three and a half miles away. Mike Todryk was an armor officer in the military, hence the name, and he is a Purple Heart recipient from his service in Bosnia in the early 2000s. He said he hopes the brand helps bring honor to first responders like Jenn Todryk’s dad and brother, who are police officers.

Armor Brewing Co. is estimated to open in the first quarter of 2022. Mike Todryk is working on hiring a master brewer, and eventually, Jenn Todryk will lend a hand with the design.

He called her his “secret weapon.”

The plan is for Armor Brewing to have a gastropub menu — one that isn’t set yet but will likely involve pizza.

“I want to put a nice beer garden in there and make this a really unique destination,” Mike Todryk said.

The couple has been in the food and beverage business since 2019, when the Todryks took over a coffee shop at The Village at Allen, renamed it, and turned it into a cafe with all-day food. Mike Todryk was a regular customer at the coffee shop before he bought it and named it Armor Coffee Co.

The family has plans to expand Armor Coffee to other locations in Collin County. So while the beer side of the business is growing, it’ll happen in concert with the coffee and roastery expansion.

“I feel there was a symbiotic relationship between coffee and beer,” Mike Todryk said.

Twitter: @sblaskovich