By Emily Williams
Andrew Pharo is a partner at Cahaba Brewing Co., a Birmingham brewery founded in 2011. The microbrewery on Third Avenue South near Pepper Place Market cranks out popular local beers like its American Blonde Ale as well as seasonal and specialty beers.
To accommodate its growing business, Cahaba Brewing will be moving to a new location in the Continental Gin Industrial Park in Avondale. The move was announced early this year, and construction has already begun. Pharo said the space is right on track and will have new equipment and a new taproom up and running in November.
“We are really excited about breathing some new life into the Continental Gin complex,” Pharo said. “Continental encompasses so much of the area’s local history and is a diamond in the rough. Hopefully, Cahaba will be the catalyst that brings Continental back to life.”
When Pharo isn’t working with his partners and staff to create their newest microbrew, he escapes to his home in Mountain Brook.
Pharo and his wife, Elizabeth, purchased their home in December of 2013 and officially moved in in July 2014 after completing a major renovation and addition to the house.
The couple called on AG Designs to aid them in finding funky and unusual furnishings and wall coverings that would fit with the couple’s modern style while still complementing the family’s heirlooms.
Though there isn’t any home brewing equipment tucked away, the Pharos have filled their home with four children — Billy, 7; Mimi, 6; Drew, 3; and Jack, 1 — and an ever-expanding collection of art.
“I have always been passionate about art,” Andrew Pharo said. “My father was an accomplished musician and painter, so I grew up surrounded by it.”
From grades five to 12, Pharo attended The Altamont School, which he said helped him further his love of the arts — visual arts in particular. He and his wife, who both come from families who fostered a love of art, have collected an assortment of pieces over the years to decorate the walls of their home.
The couple’s first piece of art was purchased 12 years ago and is displayed in their kitchen.
“My wife and I were engaged at the time, and we wanted to purchase our first piece of art together,” Pharo said.
The painting, by local artist She-She, was purchased at the Pepper Place Farmers Market and depicts a Bama Mayonnaise jar alongside a nearly-assembled BLT sandwich. Pharo said the painting suited him perfectly because he loves gardening and thinks his homegrown tomatoes are the best in town.
The kitchen incorporates accents of red throughout, complementing the red of the tomatoes in the BLT painting. The stove, a Wolf 48-inch gas range with a charbroiler and griddle from AllSouth 
Appliance, has the brand’s trademark red knobs. A red chandelier hangs over a kitchen nook, complete with a corner booth and red chairs.
While many walls in the house are neutral, the walls of what the family calls the “blue room” are almost navy with a lacquered finish that causes a sheen to reflect the light from the pendant fixture on the ceiling.
“The children think the blue room is boring and only use it as a thoroughfare for hide and seek inside,” Pharo said.
The blue room holds its share of art and also displays Pharo’s antique Turkish settee tea bench.
“It is one of a kind and was purchased for $75 by my father at an auction house in Five Points South over 50 years ago,” said Pharo.
The bench incorporates thousands of wooden pieces that were hand-carved and decorated with inlays of mother of pearl.
The Pharos don’t just collect art. They also have commissioned paintings to suit their home.
Pharo said they commissioned a painting by Merrilee Challiss and were so happy with it that they decided to have another made. In the painting, a rainbow of color pops against the black background of the canvas and the neutral shades of a large tree, where Pharo’s children can be spotted climbing and swinging from the limbs in a variety of costumes.
“We asked her to capture the animal spirit of each of our four children and incorporate it into a large format painting,” Pharo said. “After a few hours visiting with the kids, she had her inspiration. The result was an homage to ‘Where the Wild Things Are,’ and we couldn’t be happier with it.”
Pharo described the overall feeling of his home as modern, cheery, colorful and inspirational but also just a little bit aggressive.
For more information on Cahaba Brewing Co. and its upcoming events, visit www.cahababrewing.com.
