A St. Louis-area craft brewery has started construction on its first-ever taproom.

Narrow Gauge Brewing Co., located at 1545 U.S. 67 in Florissant, has operated since 2016 by selling beer in four-packs at retail, but the long-term goal has always been to open a taproom, said Heather Hardesty, who owns the brewery with her husband, Jeff Hardesty.

The brewery, best known for its hazy IPAs, first found success operating out of the basement of Cugino’s restaurant in Florissant, two doors down from its current site. The Hardestys closed on their current building in February 2020 with a vision to create a new production facility and taproom, but the long-planned project was delayed for years by the Covid-19 pandemic and the unexpected expense of extending the water main, Heather Hardesty said. Higher interest rates and increased construction costs also contributed to the delay.

With those setbacks cleared, the brewery finished construction of its new expanded production facility and offices last year. The next phase, the long-awaited taproom project, is now moving ahead with the goal of opening by the end of summer, Hardesty said. Since wrapping up the production facility, the brewery had been operating most of the rest of the building as a large retail space. To begin the process of building out the new taproom, bar and tasting room, Narrow Gauge last week moved its retail operations to a sectioned-off part of the building.

The new taproom and expanded production facility mark a major move away from Narrow Gauge’s origins brewing out of a 1,500-square-foot space in the basement of Cugino’s. The restaurant still has Narrow Gauge on tap.

At maximum production in the basement facility, Narrow Gauge could brew about 1,200 barrels a year. The brewery can more than double that production from its new space, potentially reaching 2,400 to 2,600 barrels a year, Heather Hardesty said. Production can hit maximum capacity once the taproom opens.

That increase will allow the brewer to create more beers than the 25 to 30 types available now, and will give it the ability to distribute its beer more widely across Missouri, and limited distribution in Illinois, she said.

expand

Narrow Gauge

Since the brewery is privately owned without any investors, the owners had to wait to get enough financing to move forward with each phase, Hardesty said. The latest project is financed by Bank of Franklin County. Development costs were not disclosed. The building was purchased for $650,000 in 2020, St. Louis County records show.

“We’ve been open since 2016, and we’ve operated so differently from most breweries that usually have a taproom first. So we’re just excited to get the taproom in and be able to sell our beer over our own bar,” Hardesty said. “Nothing too extravagant, but we’re just looking forward to finally have our own space to serve our beer and interact with customers.”

The room will retain the same basic look it’s already had in its time as the retail space, with exposed wooden beams, concrete floors and walls lined with windows, Hardesty said.

The tasting room and bar will seat about 60 to 70 customers, she said. It will first focus on beer, with some cocktails available. Customers will be able to bring in food from other restaurants, and the Hardestys have considered bringing in food trucks and plan to host events.

expand

Dilip Vishwanat | SLBJ

The former Pool King store that has been converted into the brewery has 8,100 total square feet available, and the taproom will occupy about 3,000 square feet, Hardesty said.

Since the brewery and the Italian/pizza restaurant were closely linked for years, many people assumed they were the same business, Hardesty said.

“It was just a shared setup with the restaurant, which worked out and was a great way to start the brewery. But it’ll be nice to kind of have our own space that’s brewery-focused where people can come in and relax, enjoy the beer, interact with our team directly and take their time,” Hardesty said.