Iron Horse Tavern proves popularity of WV beer

July 9, 2019

Morgantown’s Iron Horse Tavern celebrated its 5th anniversary this summer and its success owes much to the growing popularity of West Virginia-made beer. Of course, there is a lot more to it than that. And one asset that is readily apparent is co-founder Stephen Dilettoso.

Iron Horse Tavern, Stephen Diletosso — Stephen Dilettoso at Iron Horse Tavern, University Town Centre.

A West Virginia native and WVU alum, Stephen is the guy behind the Iron Horse Tavern concept. He’s led its development from start-up to becoming one of the state’s premier eateries and showcases for West Virginia brewers.

This story has its genesis many years ago, long before the five-year-old tavern was even a dream.

“I grew up with Brian in Elkins,” Stephen said. The Brian he’s talking about is Brian Arnett, cofounder and president of Mountain State Brewing Company. They were close friends growing up in the 1980s and through high school. “I can tell you we both had our first beer together,” Stephen says. When it came time for college, however, they headed in different directions — Brian to Maine and Stephen to Morgantown — but they kept in touch. Stephen’s career moves took him to some far-flung parts of the country, and by the late 2000s, he was working a three-year stint in California. While on the West Coast, he became very impressed with the gastropub restaurant concept. He loved the comfortable, approachable style of the gastropub that combined affordable, creative cuisine with a great bar featuring craft beer, wine, and a contemporary cocktail menu.

When he returned to Morgantown in 2012, he hooked up again with Arnett, who was by then running Mountain State Brewing and starting its network of brewery pizza pubs. Stephen soon went to work as Mountain State Brewing’s director of sales and marketing. It wasn’t long before he pitched the West Coast gastropub concept to Brian. He thought Morgantown was ready for it. Brian bought into the idea, and in 2014, they founded the original Iron Horse Tavern on High Street.

Iron Horse Tavern – High Street, tap list is WV strong.

Unlike the Mountain State Brewing pizza pubs, Iron Horse Tavern would not exclusively serve Mountain State beer. In addition to a couple of Mountain State Brewing taps, it would feature a selection of the best craft beers from West Virginia and other places.

The concept took off fast as customers responded favorably to the creative cuisine paired with a solid selection of craft beer and other drinks. Iron Horse Tavern used this beer variety to back up their popular beer-food pairing dinners and tap takeover events. As time went on, and as more WV breweries popped up, Iron Horse taps moved solely to feature WV-made beers.

Stephen Diletosso and all WV-brewed beers at Iron Horse Tavern — Iron Horse Tavern – Univ. Town Centre taps now features all West Virginia-brewed beer.

The concept here is “a rising tide lifts all boats,” Stephen says. “We’re friends with all the breweries in the state, and it’s mutually beneficial to be customers of each other.”

Today’s taps at Iron Horse Tavern are always rotating, drawing on seasonals and new beers from around the state. Stephen constantly tries to give his customers something new and interesting. He has seen a big increase in interest in West Virginia beers and does his best to feed that demand.

About a year ago, the success of the original location led Arnett and Dilettoso to open Iron Horse Tavern number two in University Town Centre, which is one of the new retail complexes growing on Morgantown’s western perimeter. They have not been disappointed by the business it has attracted. The gastropub concept they brought to Morgantown is alive and growing.

The team makes Iron Horse Tavern go

To be successful in the today’s restaurant business, Stephen believes it takes a little bit of luck, but more important is finding really good people to make the place go. “We’ve built a really strong team that trusts each other, works for each other, respects each other,” he said. He thinks the dynamic gastropub concept also helps attract quality employees. Not only his customers, but also his employees are attracted to the tavern’s emphasis on local. They buy into the concept and want to work there.

Iron Horse Tavern cocktail — Bloody Mary Martini made with local Forks of Cheat Big Deal Vodka. [IHT photo]

The tavern’s emphasis on local extends beyond the beer and into the food and other drinks menu. You’ll often find dishes with some locally-sourced ingredients and even West Virginia-made wines and spirits. It is pretty common for the tavern to feature a dish that has local beer as one of its ingredients.