What’s the best 15th birthday present? For Strange Craft Beer Co., it’s a new location.
The brewery, which was Denver’s first taproom-only watering hole when it opened in 2010, will soon have a spot in Buena Vista.
“My daughter is graduating in two weeks, so my wife and I will be empty nesters,” owner Tim Myers said of the decision. “We have a good 10 years or so left, but getting out of Denver and getting up into the mountains has always been part of the retirement plans.”
The high country spot will be at 324 E. Main St., in the heart of Buena Vista’s small but bustling downtown. Myers bought the 4,500-square-foot lot in November, paying $585,000, according to public records.
Strange’s original location at 1330 Zuni St. in Denver’s Sun Valley has a sizable patio behind it, and the new location will essentially be all patio. Myers will sling his trademark beers like Cherry Kriek out of a custom-made, 20-foot trailer.
The lot will also feature two food trucks run by Brandon Renner. His Mediterranean food truck The Olive has been operating from the site for several years, and Myers said Renner will add a cajún kitchen as well.
Myers thinks the spot can be a year-round destination, with tents and patio heaters going up during the colder months.
Myers originally hoped to open in April, but complications with switching the use for the land and serving out of a trailer have led to delays.
“It used to be a community chicken coup 80 or 90 years ago, and there’s a cabin, essentially a 300-square-foot house, so we could convert that,” Myers said, referencing one plan if things fall through with the trailer. “But that’s a change of use and that’s exactly what we’ve struggled with.”
The hope now is to open by mid-July, when the Brewers Rendezvous beer festival happens in nearby Salida.
Between getting the trailer built out to serve beer and all the utility needs on the lot, Myers said the final bill for the Buena Vista buildout will be around $150,000.
All the beer will still be brewed in Denver, though Myers said that could change depending on how business is at the new spot. He said Strange Craft makes 300 barrels of beer a year, but easily has capacity to double or triple that number. There are 50 to 60 barrels ready to ship up to Buena Vista when it opens.
“I don’t want to leave Denver completely, and we’ve built an extremely loyal following,” he said of the Mile High. “We could reverse the model and have a taproom in Denver while brewing in Buena Vista. There’s definitely a market for both.”
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