Owners Rich Lukasavage and Scott Snider had one heck of a time acquiring the building before opening Hops & Barleys.  Alice Savage, the owner of the building, was a cantankerous old woman who was often difficult to deal with partly due to an onset of Alzheimer's disease. 

     Without a guardian to oversee Alice's affairs, dealing with her was often difficult.  Each time Scott and Rich were ready to sign the paperwork, Alice would suddenly change her mind.  At one point, Alice insisted on keeping all the chairs as part of the sales agreement.  After that incident, Rich and Scott were ready to call it quits.  Miraculously, however, the deal went through, and Hops & Barleys officially opened for business on February 21, 1994.