Third Street Aleworks in Santa Rosa makes pandemic pivot permanent, ditching food business

When Third Street Aleworks was forced to temporarily shut its doors in 2020 to comply with COVID-19 dining restrictions, the owners of the popular brewpub in downtown Santa Rosa had to pivot quickly if they wanted to survive.

“To maintain revenue, we decided to shift our focus away from the restaurant and towards wholesale beer production and distribution,” co-owner Chris Frederick said Tuesday. Frederick, with his wife, Arika Frederick, and friend, Matthew Vella, purchased the now-28-year-old brewery only months before the pandemic began.

Two years later, that move has proven to be lucrative.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, the owners announced they are expanding their wholesale beer production twofold by converting their downtown brewpub into a beer-only taproom and opening a new production facility. The new production-only facility will be located in either Santa Rosa or Rohnert Park and is scheduled to open in the next three to six months. The last day to order food at the downtown location will be Tuesday, May 31.

“Over the last few years, the wholesale beer business has been a growing segment for us,” Chris Frederick said. “We’ve currently maxed out production in our current facility, and the demand has exceeded our supply. Now we want to focus on distributors to help us carry our brand to the next level.”

Currently, Third Street produces about 2,000 barrels of beer per year and has expanded distribution in Sacramento over the past 12 to 18 months. Moving forward, the brewery plans to increase distribution in the East Bay, San Francisco, Vacaville and Vallejo.

According to The Brewers Association, a nonprofit trade organization that promotes and protects American craft brewers, craft beer sales by volume were up 8% in 2021. Currently, craft beer makes up 13% of the total beer market. The growth of Third Street Aleworks aligns with other Sonoma County breweries that have expanded in recent months, including Crooked Goat, HenHouse Brewing Co. and Fogbelt Brewing.

Brewmaster Tyler Laverty, who has overseen production for Third Street since 2009, is a wine chemist by trade. “Tyler is highly skilled at figuring out what consumers want to drink,” Frederick said.

Moving forward, Frederick sees the brewery producing lighter styles, like lagers, and low-calorie beers.

Following Third Street’s announcement that it will cease restaurant operations, fans took to Facebook to lament the impending loss of the brewpub’s “amazing burgers” and “the best fish and chips in town.”

But Frederick cited rising food costs, labor shortages and high labor costs as some of the main reasons behind the shift.

“We’re taking a step back to focus on what we know we do well as a company — and that’s making beer,” he said.

While Third Street may consider adding food back to the menu in the future, Frederick said that will depend on whether they can make the kitchen profitable. In the meantime, customers are welcome to bring their own food to the taproom, especially on June 2 when trivia night relaunches.

“We encourage patrons to pick up food from our downtown neighbors, like Beer Baron, Belly Left Coast Kitchen and La Fondita (next door), then bring it in, grab a beer and watch the game,” Frederick said. “Whatever it takes to get food here, we’re willing to support it.”