After 10 years Rowley Farmhouse Ales enters a new chapter

Pecos Trail Cafe is located at 2239 Old Pecos Trail in Santa Fe, with a new brewing tenant arriving in 2027.

By now, you’ve probably already heard from one source or another that Rowley Farmhouse Ales is moving. It’s true, by early next spring, they will be closing the doors at their current space and turning the key on a new one, bringing a close to what has been a great, long run.

It’s been 10 years since Rowley Farmhouse Ales moved into its space at 1405 Maclovia. In that time, they’ve established themselves as a well-respected name in the craft beer industry, earning multiple Great American Beer Festival awards, including two golds, two silvers, and a bronze, as well as being named Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year in 2019. They’ve been named Best Beer Bar in New Mexico, received an Edible New Mexico Local Hero award or two, and were also recognized several times for various categories in local dining and craft beer by the Santa Fe Reporter’s Best of Santa Fe series.

Over those 10 years, Rowley Farmhouse Ales has carved out a special place for locals, visitors, and furry friends alike. It’s a place where you can bring your date or your family for a casual night out, and order something truly world class, whether from the kitchen or the taproom.

One could argue that RFA has certainly made good use of their space over the years.

Oh, those distinctive red bar chairs. We’ll see if they make the trip to the new home.

Last week I spoke with co-owners and founders John Rowley and Jeffrey Kaplan to find out all the details about the new space, what they plan to do with it, the future of the brewhouse, the menu, and what will happen to the Rowley Farmhouse brand.

But first, let’s get into the why. In the heyday of craft beer, around 10 to 11 years ago, breweries had become America’s darlings. The industry had experienced an enormous boom, going from roughly 1,500 to over 9,000 breweries in America by the early 2020s. Of course, when COVID struck, it hit breweries hard. Small breweries had to pivot quickly, package their beers, put more of their business online, and find new ways to survive. Since then, it’s been a rough decline. Business has been tougher for breweries than ever before, and they’ve had to adapt, change their models, offer more than just beer, pull back from distribution, and even in some cases, change locations.

Covid Era packaging. From Left: Marcus DiFilippo, Elissa Ritt, Ebbie Edmonston, Mike Donovan, Tyler King, and John Rowley.

On July 1 of this year, RFA’s lease was up. The landlord had hit them with a steep increase, something very similar to Second Street’s reason for pulling out of, well, 2nd Street. For RFA, the increase was simply too steep to make staying make sense anymore.

“We like the space, it’s just that we need to fill seats to stay in business,” Rowley said. “So, if he’s going to jack our rent, and the economy is going to screw us, and people aren’t going out as much, this isn’t the right spot for us anymore.”

The tragic hobo fire that destroyed RFAs first supply trailer.

The Cerrillos Corridor has been exceptionally challenging for Rowley Farmhouse Ales in recent years. They’ve had to deal with robberies, a huge fire that destroyed much of their supplies and equipment, and, tucked away behind the former AutoZone, they’ve been hard to find even for locals on this side of town. With the challenges facing the Cerrillos Road corridor, the neighborhood just ain’t what it used to be. After 10 years, it was time for a change.

The New-New

That change came by way of happy coincidence. A few years ago, the new owners of the Pecos Trail Inn put a lot of money into renovating the Highway 66 motor lodge which includes 23 rooms and a pool area. Not too long after, the inn was searching for new tenants for its just-under-5,000-square-foot restaurant, currently known as the Pecos Trail Café. Around the same time, RFA was searching for a new location.

“There’s all sorts of opportunity there that we’re super excited about,” Kaplan said. “They have a pool there that they have open to the public, so we’re going to license that pool area for pool service. We’re going to start doing breakfast service. There’s the potential for a drive-through at some point.”

Enjoying a beer while floating in a pool? Don’t mind if we do.

The new location also includes a private dining room. With space for around 50 people, the addition will provide another much-needed space for hosting private parties and events in Santa Fe.

“We can have events, karaoke, homebrew club, you can have your quinceañera there,” Rowley said.

With all the potential for change at the new space, Rowley Farmhouse Ales still plans to be Rowley Farmhouse Ales. Changing venues doesn’t mean changing the vibe, or the brand, it just means changing what’s possible.

The private room has space for around 50 people.

The menu and more

The food will still be locally sourced, farm-to-table, gastropub grub with a new Mexican influence, everything made from scratch. There will just be more of it.

“Everything we do now, we’re still going to do, and then more,” Kaplan said. “We’re going to make more from scratch than we have in the past. And, since we’re going to be adding in bagels, we’re going to add a baking department.”

Chef Kaplan takes a *very* quick break from cooking to pose for a photo.

Right now RFA bakes a few things on-site, like the biscuits for the chicken-and-biscuit sandwiches and their pretzels. The rest they source locally from Chocolate Maven.

“At some point we want to be able to just bake everything in house,” Kaplan said.

There’s no need to worry about whether they’ll be leaving your favorite menu items behind.

“With our move, our plan is to do everything we’re doing now, and then just add some things to it,” Kaplan said. “We appreciate all of our regulars who have helped us get to this point, and so things like our tuna melt, which is super popular – it’s not going anywhere. We’re going to keep making that there. Being larger is going to afford us the opportunity to expand our menu and just make more of it in-house.”

And, just because they’ll be moving into a somewhat pricier part of town, it doesn’t mean RFA will be raising their prices.

“We literally do our best to try to keep prices down,” Rowley said. “It’s very challenging in this market, but I think we’ve done a good job of not gouging people. We have a formula and we’re sticking to it. We’re definitely not trying to drive people away with prices. You have to find a balance.”

The new space even comes with a built-in covered patio.

With the addition of breakfast service, RFA is also currently considering and conceptualizing weekend brunch.

“It’s definitely in the discussion,” Kaplan said. “Sundays, possibly Saturdays as well. Possibly every weekend. There are still some decisions that haven’t been carved in stone yet. But if you were a betting man, I would say 70/30 – we are doing brunch on Sundays.”

Beer, beverages and beyond

The new space wouldn’t be Rowley Farmhouse Ales without ales, of course.

Rowley said that they’ve already mapped out a spot for the new brewhouse. At this location, however, they’ll be downsizing the operation from a 7-barrel system to a 3.5-barrel system. While they’ll be brewing less beer by volume, they aim to keep their taps full, maintain the quality of their beer, and stick to their core competency: brewing barrel-aged, mixed-culture fermentation beers.

“We’re going to kind of lean into our barrel aging project,” Rowley said. “We’re getting an insulated refrigerated shipping container, a forty-footer, and that will serve as our barrel room, and we’re going to do some food fermentation as well, pickles, things like that. Bagels is one thing we want to work on, because this town needs a properly fermented bagel.”

And, if you’re wondering, the new location is going to have the same amount of taps, same carefully curated taplist, and they plan to keep their extensive bottle list as well.

“That’s something Jeffrey does really well,” Rowley said. “Every time he finds something unique, he buys it. Our bottle list is the best in the state. I challenge anyone to beat it.”

Even though canning their products was something they relied on to get them through the tougher months during COVID, that is not something RFA will be pursuing at the new location. They’ll stick with bottles, because Rowley said he feels it is a far superior vessel for representing his beer.

The current bar at the Pecos Trail Cafe.

As for other beverages, RFA plans to have a full liquor license, meaning they’ll be able to serve much more than local wines and spirits. RFA plans to expand their beverage program as a whole, including out-of-state beer and wine, and a plethora of spirits from premium vodkas to good scotches and tequilas.

“Actually, that’s what tipped me over for brunch, a Bloody Mary bar,” Kaplan said. “That actually entices me more than doing the food side of things. A good Bloody Mary bar would be awesome.”

RFA hopes to capitalize on the greater amount of daily traffic in the new area. With the hotel aspect, they expect to introduce their beer and food to a whole new clientele. RFA plans to open in early spring of 2027, although they will need to be out of their current location by the end of March.

“We won’t be open at both spaces at the same time,” Kaplan said.

“It’ll be like one day this closes; the next day that opens,” Rowley added.

Ten-year anniversary celebration

But first, RFA won’t pack up their belongings without at least throwing a few more bashes, including one very special party celebrating their 10 years in the business.

This Sunday, Rowley Farmhouse Ales is celebrating their 10th anniversary, with food specials, special beer releases, and live music!

Food: There will be lobster specials featuring a 1.5-lb. whole lobster plate with baked potato, corn on the cob, and that delicious drawn butter for dipping. If you weren’t able to order that by August 30, they’ll still have hot or cold, quarter-pound lobster rolls, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Beer: In typical Rowley fashion, they will be releasing special beers for the occasion including:

Petite Blanch – Apricot, which is apparently tasting amazing already.
“Confabulation,” a sour with a ton of Bing Cherries.
Agent Scully – Season 7, episode 1
Agent Scully – 10th Anniversary Extra Special Edition, which I hear is quite extra on the hop scale.

John Rowley poses with the Nuckolls crew including three former Rowley Farmhouse Ales brewers. From left, Hector Santana, Jen Arvizo, Viv the brewdog, John Rowley, Dan Cannella, Jami Nordby, and Jen Treu.

I’ll admit, Rowley Farmhouse Ales has earned a special place in my heart. Over the years they’ve welcomed me as a friend to their holiday parties, Blackest Fridays, behind the scenes bottle-shares. Whatever it was, they always saved a place for me at the table. They even let me brew a few batches there.

Ten years of RFA saw some truly great brewers come through their doors, all of whom I now call friends. Over those 10 years, RFA has learned a lot and has grown a lot. But, there’s one thing that has never changed — their commitment to providing the best beer, food, and restaurant experience they possibly can.

They may be taking on a new spot, in a new part of town, but they will be bringing 10 years of great experience with them. The closing of the old location might be bittersweet for some, but the new location will allow them to do more than they ever could before. With endless possibilities ahead, I know they will make good use of the space. I just hope they bring that beautiful bar top with them.

To the closing of a great first chapter, and the opening of a bigger, better one!

Cheers!

— Luke