For Jotham Michnovicz, Bosque Brewing chief development officer and co-owner, it was a “no brainer” to open the newest Bosque Brewing location in the Northeast Heights.
“When the opportunity presented itself, we were all pretty much ready to go,” Michnovicz said of the property.
He said that while the neighborhood is flush with apartments and housing, there are still relatively few options for entertainment with most breweries located in more industrial areas of the city.
The new location, at 5210 Eubank NE at the Promenade shopping center, is slated to open before June and will be the seventh Bosque Brewing location.
The brewery has been planning to open its Heights location for several years, but the pandemic put those plans on hold and construction didn’t begin until several months ago, Michnovicz said.
But now, construction is in full force and is expanding the former location of Godfather’s Pizza into a 6,200-square-foot taproom with a 4,500-square-foot patio.
The brewery will mirror the other Bosque locations when it comes to food and drink offerings, but Michnovicz said this one differs when it comes to the outdoor space.
“Pre-pandemic you had a lot of people that just loved sitting outside and being on patios, of course New Mexico is great for that sort of thing, and I think that (patios) have become even more important the past couple of years,” he said.
In addition to normal patio seating, there will be a large grassy area for patrons to play outdoor games and lounge about on picnic blankets.
“I think it’s going to be wildly successful,” Michnovicz said. “I think people are going to enjoy sitting on that patio and I think it’s going to be fun too because it’s going to be more of a backyard feel as opposed to a concrete patio that you might have at other places.”
While customers will be able to order their usual beer favorites, the Eubank location will also have a menu of 12 cocktails to choose from with spirits made from La Reforma, Altar Spirits and Dry Point Distillers, thanks to a change in state liquor laws that allow for local breweries to serve locally distilled liquor.
The other Bosque brewing locations will also feature a cocktail menu.
The Eubank location of Bosque Brewing will hire about 70 to 80 people, with hiring already happening for certain positions.
Pilar Martinez covers retail and commercial real estate for the Journal. She can be reached at pmartinez@abqjournal.com.
