A typical visit to a San Diego brewery consists of checking out a beer company’s portfolio of ales and lagers or, in the case of brewpubs and facilities with onsite culinary programs, enjoying local brews over lunch or dinner. As the industry has evolved, brewing companies have added programming to the mix – trivia, educational classes, live entertainment, makers markets – creating events to draw increased patronage and tasting-room sales.
A select group of breweries have taken things a step further, going to considerable lengths to establish private-event spaces within their venues. Those siloed areas get packed during the holiday season, but generate revenue all year long, and have gone a long way to sustaining numerous local brewing concerns in what has been a challenging handful of years for members of the craft-beer segment.
In 1989, Karl Strauss Brewing opened San Diego’s first post-Prohibition Era brewpub (a term for a restaurant with in-house brewing capabilities). While the company is well-known for its award-winning beers, adept restaurant management has been key to its success and longevity, including having the foresight to construct attractive enclaves fit for hosting a wide range of events, such as holiday parties, corporate gatherings, birthdays and retirements, baby and wedding showers, graduation and rehearsal dinners.
All of Karl Strauss’ nine Southern California brewery-restaurants (four of which are in San Diego County) can host groups of five to 500 guests. Its downtown San Diego, Carlsbad and Sorrento Mesa locations are equipped with private rooms further bolstered by rentable outdoor patio spaces.
“Each location has its own charm, so guests can personalize their party,” says Danielle Stuht, group event sales manager for Karl Strauss. “Take our Sorrento Mesa Brewery Gardens, for example. The koi pond and serene ambiance create a stunning backdrop for any type of event. It’s the perfect blend of craft, comfort and California vibes that keeps our guests coming back.”
While brewing companies’ event spaces — to some extent — are an extension of their brands, like any rentable space, flexibility is a foremost aim. Providing clients with the utmost opportunity to customize events to communicate their brand or theme is important. So, too, is conveying the laid-back atmosphere that is a hallmark of the craft-beer industry.
“Our brewpubs strike the perfect balance between fun and professional,” says Stuht. “When guests host an event with us, it feels like a less formal venue. And of course, great beer has a way of bringing people together and keeping the mood light and enjoyable.”
Stone Brewing also took a thoughtful approach when constructing its Escondido headquarters in 2006. In addition to a state-of-the-art brewery, the expansive property is also home to Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, a two-story farm-to-table restaurant giving way to a one-acre park-like area boasting green lawns and a walking trail winding around a waterfall-fed pond. Multiple bars, an upstairs event space, a gazebo, and several other outdoor areas have made Stone a popular place for North County businesses to host events and residents to hold a variety of gatherings, including lavish weddings.
When Stone built its second World Bistro & Gardens in Point Loma’s mixed-use Liberty Station development in 2013 – the largest restaurant in San Diego County by square footage, with an outdoor garden and courtyard, corner patio, and bocce ball courts — private-event space was an even bigger focus.
“We have 62,000 square feet of space, featuring eight unique event spaces that people can reserve. Our entire property can house up to 1,300 people for a full bistro buyout, while our main gardens can accommodate up to 350 people for a partial buyout,” says Sydney Simmons, senior event sales manager for Stone. “We host events of all types, from baby showers to birthdays and rehearsal dinners, weddings, corporate events, and with Liberty Station being a former military base, we also host many military events.”
Like Karl Strauss, Stone offers food-service options such as buffets, which go beyond their everyday menu and are built for larger groups. Where the company has long distinguished itself is by using events as a means to immerse participants in the full Stone experience through its beers, (often beer-infused) culinary offerings, design aesthetic, and education.
All of Karl Strauss’ nine Southern California brewery-restaurants (four of which are in San Diego County) can host groups of five to 500 guests. Its downtown San Diego, Carlsbad and Sorrento Mesa locations are equipped with private rooms further bolstered by rentable outdoor patio spaces. Pictured here: A room in its Sorrento Mesa brewery. (Karl Strauss)
“Stone is a truly unique venue – far from your standard ballroom or industrial space. Each of our areas has its own distinct character, featuring elements like water and fire features, historic architecture, and our signature Stone aesthetic of metal, wood, and boulders,” says Simmons. “We also love collaborating with clients to make their events more interactive, offering unique elements like hop-smelling stations, live cooking demonstrations, guided pairings and mixology experiences.”
But private-event spaces aren’t just for larger operations with multiple restaurants to their names and vast square footage. Several smaller and mid-size breweries – many of which do not have food programs – have added reliable revenue streams by installing event spaces.
One of those operations is 18-year-old New English Brewing, which more than tripled its publicly accessible footprint in 2017 by taking over the 2,400-square-foot space next door to its Sorrento Valley production facility, converting it into a rentable event space. Dubbed The Barrel Room, it features its own bar, restrooms, audio-visual equipment, and furnishings, including sectionals and armchairs in a corner lounge area. That venue has hosted all manner of events in the past eight years. So, too, has The Pub at New English, a 2020 reimagining of the company’s original tasting room, which introduced a game room, plush furniture and wallpaper matching that of The Barrel Room. Not only does the revamped space provide aesthetic continuity and the ability to host events for smaller parties, but it also allows New English to remain open to the public when hosting a private party.
“We work events into our everyday schedule. As such, we don’t shut down or allow complete buyouts, so our regular patrons can be sure that we will be open should they drop by on a whim,” says Nina Lacey, vice president of marketing for New English.
Lacey says profits earned through private events have been important in keeping the business’s bottom line healthy. She lists New English’s central location, access to three major freeways, and abundance of parking as key selling points. The company has also benefited from its landlord, Longfellow Real Estate Partners, who is constructing a 10,000-square-foot outdoor area with shaded seating, fire pits, shuffleboard courts and a gazebo. Completed in 2020, the green, family-friendly area abuts The Barrel Room’s roll-up door entrance.
Meanwhile, in Vista, the fraternal owners of 12-year-old Booze Brothers Brewing have been responsible for every aspect of The Woodshed, a 3,000-square-foot event space connecting to their business’s bar- and stage-equipped open-air patio. String lighting illuminates the venue within a venue, which is equipped with farm-table seating for up to 120 guests, lush plant walls, its own bar (the tap list for which can be customized) and private restrooms.
The Woodshed proved such a hit for Booze Brothers that its owners opened a dedicated event venue in an 8,200-square-foot building in downtown Vista in 2020. Dubbed The Vistonian, the fully customizable space features wood-beam ceilings, arched alcoves, greenery evocative of Booze Brothers’ home base, and a bar serving the company’s beverages. While The Vistonian is designed as a blank canvas versatile enough to host just about any event, it is particularly well-suited for weddings, thanks in part to built-in ready rooms for brides and grooms.
“Beer venues like ours come with a built-in sense of community and comfort. A brewery crowd expects good beer, relaxed energy, and genuine hospitality, and that translates naturally into weddings and private events,” says Donny Firth, owner of Booze Brothers. “Instead of feeling like you’ve rented a generic function room, it feels like you’ve taken over your favorite local spot and elevated it for the day. Operationally, having the brewery behind the bar means consistent quality and a well-trained team that already knows how to handle high-volume service. You get the polish of a professional event venue with the personality and creativity of a working brewery.”
Firth held his 20-year high-school reunion at The Vistonian and has watched many of his friends get married at both of his companies’ venues. He counts those events as memorable, positive experiences as both an owner and attendee.
“Our special-event spaces and services play a significant role in Stone’s overall success. Collectively, our venues welcome more than 350,000 guests annually, driving consistent foot traffic and exposure to the Stone brand,” says Simmons. “Events contribute not only to direct revenue but also to broader guest engagement, brand loyalty, and repeat visitation across all areas of our business.”
From a financial standpoint, Simmons says event sales represent roughly 30% of the Liberty Station Bistro’s annual revenue. Firth estimates events at The Woodshed and The Vistonian constitute roughly 20% of the company’s total revenue.
“Beyond the numbers, these gatherings introduce thousands of new guests to our beer, food, and hospitality each year, many of whom return for future visits,” says Stuht, who says private events bring in just under 10% of total revenue for Karl Strauss’ Brewpub Division. “It’s a win for both brand awareness and our bottom line.”
Brandon Hernández is founder of San Diego Beer News (www.sandiegobeer.news), a site providing daily coverage of the county’s brewing industry, a beat he’s covered for 19 years. Follow him @sdbeernews or contact him at brandon@sandiegobeer.news