(Staff photo)It’s early, but 2023 has so far been a big year for new businesses locating on the east side of town.
Last week, we wrote about Boulevard Bread Co.’s plans on Crossover Road, and this week brings news that a new brewery will soon set up shop nearby at 2649 E. Mission Blvd.
The new brewery will be called Fayetteville Beer Works, and is operated by Brian O’Connell, a local entrepreneur and founder of Colorado-based Renegade Brewing Co.
O’Connell founded Renegade in 2011 in Denver, and operated the brewery for a number of years before selling an undisclosed but “significant” stake in the company in 2017 to Anne Mulcahy, the former CEO and chair of the Xerox Corporation. O’Connell stayed on as CEO for a few more years before moving back to Fayetteville a few years ago.
The idea behind Fayetteville Beer Works, O’Connell said, is to create a fun, family-friendly place to hang out in east Fayetteville.
“We live on the east side of town, and love it over here,” O’Connell said. “We’d like to see more places on this side of town where we can hang out.”
O’Connell said he’ll rely heavily on feedback from the neighborhood to determine what beers resonate locally, he said, and though his previous brewery Renegade – known for its signature Redacted Rye IPA – quickly became a production house brewing about 20,000 barrels a year and distributing to five states, his hope is to keep things smaller and more flexible this time around.
“We don’t plan to package beer, so we won’t have to make the same thing over and over,” he said. “I’m a very seasonal beer drinker, so I love something dark in the winter, and something lighter in the summer. Our plan is to have a variety of styles to suit anyone’s palate. We’ll take customer feedback pretty seriously, and whatever folks are most interested in, we’re happy to make.”
O’Connell says he will be involved in some of the creative side of the brewing process, but plans to hire a brewer to help with day-to-day brewing operations.
The brewery will have some snacks, and he hopes to find a food truck partner or two to feed hungry patrons.
Fayetteville Beer Works will occupy the west side of the new building, which is currently a blank slate as a recently constructed structure that hasn’t yet been built out.
O’Connell said he hopes that will allow things to progress more quickly, with no need for demo work at the site.
“We can just go in and build things out as needed,” he said.
If all goes well, O’Connell said he hopes to be up and running sometime in late spring or early summer.
