Santa Fe Brewing Company has always had a solid presence in the southern New Mexico market, with their sales extending all the way into neighboring El Paso. But so far, that’s only been in package form. This fall, New Mexico’s oldest brewery will plant their flag in Las Cruces with a new taproom set in a very familiar space to locals.

A couple weeks ago, after noticing a post from SFBCs social media, asking, “Ever been to Las Cruces? Need an excuse to go?” we reached out to Brian Lock, the CEO of Santa Fe Brewing Co., to see if we could get some details on his latest venture.

Over a phone interview, we talked about the plans for the new taproom, what you can expect, and how soon it will be open to the public.

DSBC: So why Las Cruces? Why now?

Lock: As you know, I’m super excited about offering our products in the southern part of the state. A lot of our mainstays and core brands are available in that market. We have some good support from the local community down there, and this gives us an opportunity to share some specialty beers that they might not be able to find in their grocery stores. And, give them an opportunity to go to a taproom that offers all of those fun unique styles, like the Zozobra, and then our small batch stuff, and of course our Nitro series that we do now in all of our taprooms.

DSBC: So why did Santa Fe Brewing choose this particular location, the former Bosque Brewing taproom at 901 East University Avenue? Was it intentional or was it simply just the right opportunity?

Lock: It was definitely the right opportunity. It’s something we’ve been looking for, jeez, since before COVID. During 2018 (to) 2019, we were in the Las Cruces market searching for a location down there, and then of course, COVID hit, and then that kind of put all expansion plans on hold. And so, we hadn’t totally counted out that option down there, and so we kept our eyes open. And then, the right situation came along at the right time, and we figured it made sense. And so, that’s why it was time to pursue it.

DSBC: Is this part of a larger expansion strategy?

Lock: No, I think we’re just going there for now. You know, like I said, we’d been looking for a spot in that southern region of the state for a number of years, and this opportunity came up and it made a lot of sense, and so we decided to pursue it. And yeah, this this is kind of it for now. I just want to make sure I take very calculated baby steps, especially with the with what’s going on in the overall market and kind of where things are.

DSBC: So about the former Bosque space, will it be renovated or mostly stay the same?

Lock: Well, I mean, it’s definitely going to require us to rebrand it so that it feels like a Santa Fe Brewing taproom. So there is definitely some, I would call very minor adjustments to just make it obvious to somebody visiting our taproom for the first time that it’s Santa Fe Brewing.

DSBC: And, like your other spaces, will it be family friendly and dog friendly?

Lock: I’m not clear exactly on the rules with the City of Las Cruces in terms of pets and patios. We’ll follow whatever the city requires us to do with respect to that. But, I mean ideally we try to mirror our other locations in terms of our philosophies and what we allow and that sort of thing.

DSBC: You had mentioned flagship beers as well as some of your specialty beers making their way down south. Are there going to be any specifically exclusive beers for Las Cruces?

Lock: I think exclusive probably not, but collaborations? Absolutely. We’re always open for that, and we recently did a collaboration with Little Toad Creek Brewing, which is pretty close by (in Silver City), and so we’ll continue to definitely entertain those opportunities when they come up. And, we’d love to work collaboratively with other local taprooms in Las Cruces to create products that are fun for the community.

DSBC: How many taps do you plan on having at the new space?

Lock: Twenty.

DSBC: I know the former space had a kitchen. What is your plan for food? Will you be running a kitchen? Or will you be partnering with food trucks?

Lock: So, we are actually subleasing the kitchen to Fusion Tacos. So, as you know, we have Fusion Tacos at a few of our other locations, and so this will be the same kind of experience where they will run and operate the kitchen in the back, and we will operate taps in the front of the house.

DSBC: As for live music, trivia nights, things like that, are you aiming to mirror your other taprooms in this regard as well?

Lock: Yes, I think we’ll definitely pursue those opportunities and definitely listen to the community there. And, if they’re asking for trivia nights, then we’d absolutely love to do trivia nights. If they’re asking for live music, depending on what’s allowable at that location, we’ll absolutely entertain that as well.

DSBC: Earlier you mentioned the unique Santa Fe Brewing Company experience. If someone in Las Cruces has never visited a Santa Fe Brewing taproom before, what experience do you hope they have when they walk through the door?

Lock: We focus a lot of our attention on creating colorful, fun, experiences that showcase not only our packaging, which is very colorful, but creating a very community-oriented, family-friendly experience, where the consumer can feel the brand and feel the excitement in a very casual atmosphere.

DSBC: Do you have any other projects in the works right now?

Lock: No, currently that’s the only one.

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SFBC will be bringing about 12 to 15 new jobs into the Las Cruces area, with full- and part-time positions available. They are now hiring and taking resumes. If you’re interested, Lock encourages you to reach out to info@santafebrewing.com. They plan to be open by late August/early September, just about in time for the new college year.

To the success of the new taproom and to New Mexico’s oldest and largest craft brewery, cheers!

— Luke

Luke has been covering the Santa Fe Craft Beer scene since 2014.