SIDNEY -- What started as a hobby is now a brick and mortar location, and it's own label.

Boss City Brewing officially opened its doors Thursday. Co-owner Stan Norgard called the opening night a success. Prior to Thursday's opening, a soft-opening event was held Wednesday afternoon.

"Last night, Thursday, April 25, was our official grand opening. We had a soft opening the day before where we worked out some bugs with just a new POS (point of sale), dialing in the draft system, just coordination of the kitchen, but overall those things were worked out pretty quickly overnight. Yesterday was a huge success for our grand opening. Everything went pretty flawless. Everyone was in a good mood working and clientele, the customers that we had, were just all in awe, and loved the place," Norgard said. 

He said they received numerous compliments on the food as well as the drink menu.

Norgard said the history of Boss City Brewing starts in San Diego where he met his wife Melissa. They moved back to Sidney -- he had done some home-brewing in San Diego -- and went to work for Cabela's. He picked up home-brewing again, and they talked of possibly opening a brewery in the future. They then purchased the Sam & Louie's Italian Restaurant and New York Pizzeria franchise in Sidney, and started brewing under the name Boss City at the restaurant.

"One of Sidney's nicknames in the late 1800s with the expansion of the railroad was 'Boss City.' Another one was 'Toughest Town on the Tracks,' Sinful Sidney' people might have heard before. But, Boss City it just ... I don't know. It just had a ring to it. We wanted to incorporate the Sidney history in our new project," he said.

The design allowing customers to witness the brewing process is part of what makes Boss City Brewing unique, Norgard said.

Boss City Brewing Company is located at 1200 Jackson St. in Sidney, and is open 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.