When Central City’s first brewpub in Vancouver opens this summer, beer aficionados familiar with the city’s brewing history may get a little nostalgic when they walk through the doors.
The award-winning Surrey brewer is launching a new location across the street from BC Place at 871 Beatty St., where Dix BBQ & Brewery served patrons of Vancouver’s emerging craft beer scene for years before shuttering in 2010.
“Our founder, Darryll Frost, managed the opening of the original Dix when he worked for Mark James (Group, brewing restaurants). He has a lot of emotional attachment to Dix,” said Tim Barnes, Central City’s vice-president of sales and marketing.
“Elements of the old Dix will be in there.”
That means a menu featuring barbecue entrees and fixings reminiscent of the previous brewpub that occupied the space.
“Brick is still an important part of it. We’ve added a lot of stuff as well,” Barnes said, noting that while the brewpub will feature TVs, people should not expect a sports bar vibe.
“If you ask a server about the beer (it’s important) that they know about the beer.”
Barnes has been peppered with questions about the opening of the brewpub every since signs went up at the old Dix location a few months ago.
“Some downtown places as you know are kind of pretentious and we just wanted to completely stay away from that,” he said.
“It’s going to attract a lot of people from different walks of life. You’ll have the after-work crowd, you’ll have the sports crowd. We’re hoping it’s a place where everyone can feel comfortable.”
The Vancouver site does not have an exact opening date pinned down just yet as it’s still navigating through the licensing offices at Vancouver city hall.
“We will open as soon as we possibly can and they delay will not be because we don’t have all our equipment ready. It’s going to be based on, ‘Are we legally able to open?’” Barnes said, adding the goal is to offer growlers when the brewpub opens but he's "not sure if we’re going to be able to do it.”
UPDATED: The brewpub will feature on-site brewing of both its signature beers, such as the Red Racer IPA, as well as the trending sour beers. Barnes said the original plan was to just ferment the sour beers at the brew pub, while its go-to line of beers were to be trucked in from Central City’s main brewery in Surrey.
“We have a great following in Surrey and we’re proud of the brewpub there but the reality is a lot of our beer is sold in Vancouver,” Barnes said.
“It’s the most important beer market in Canada, I think, and it’s the most important part of our business, for sure. So it’s going to be great to have that personal experience and brand showcase.”
Beer lovers should expect “old-style German beer hall” seats where people can lean over to strangers and strike up a conversation when the 6,000-square-foot operation does open, according to Barnes.
“We’re going to have places where you can also feel comfortable taking a date and having more private seating,” he added.
There will be 40 beer taps at the bar, while only about half of them will be serving Central City’s own brews, such as its signature Red Racer IPA and ESB.
“Predominantly, we’re going to support B.C. craft,” Barnes said, adding Central City already has strong relationships with local brewers like Parallel 49, Steamworks and Phillips Brewing.
“It sounds corny but it’s true: we all help each other, we really do. That mentality started with the brewers.”
Even as the Vancouver market has seen brewpubs such as Big Rock and Steel Toad open in recent months, Barnes said he’s not concerned about the market becoming oversaturated.
“In terms of brewpubs or pubs downtown, yeah there’s a lot…but it’s indicative of what the market’s doing.”
