The building that formerly housed the Rio Grande Cafe, facing the Misión y Convento on the Old Los Alamos Highway, may finally get its first occupant since 2008.
Rinconada-based Blue Heron Brewing Company recently bought the property from the Bernie Archuleta estate, with the intent of turning it into a tap room where patrons can drink local beers and wines and enjoy live music from local artists.
Blue Heron is the brainchild of owner Kristin Hennelly, who runs the current brewery and tap room on State Road 68 in Rinconada with her husband. Hennelly is aided by vintner Joshua Johnson and former Embudo Station brewer Brandon Santos.
Hennelly, a native of Dixon, opened Blue Heron’s doors in 2009 and it’s been a hit with locals and tourists ever since. Blue Heron features five beers on tap and five bottled varieties in addition to two wines and a seasonal cider.
Hennelly said she has many reasons for wanting to expand into Española. She said she has customers that come from Española, Santa Fe and Los Alamos, and a more central location to those communities would make Blue Heron more accessible.
Trendier locations like Taos or Santa Fe didn’t entice her because Blue Heron would have to compete with the plethora of microbreweries and tap rooms that already serve those cities.
Additionally, doubling the amount of Blue Heron tap rooms will not necessarily increase the amount of manpower Blue Heron needs to operate. While Hennelly has no plans to build another microbrewery, she does intend to increase her brewing capacity from the current three-barrels to six-barrels.
Despite the need for more equipment, Hennelly said the process will not take any longer or require more work from herself or other employees
Hennelly said the future tap room will be “family friendly,” differentiating it from a bar. Hennelly says that unlike bars, the Blue Heron tap room will not feature loud music, long hours, and over-served patrons. Hennelly said she envisions the Española location to be more of a community hub where patrons can have a couple drinks, good conversation, and listen to a local musician.
Eventually, Hennelly hopes to add a restaurant to the tap room where they could serve pizza and other simple menu items, she said.
Customers looking for Budweiser, Miller or any other major beer brands may find themselves disappointed with the tap room’s selection. The proposed tap room will have a local emphasis on their drinks, with beers and wines either coming from their own brewery or other local microbreweries and vineyards, Hennelly said.
While Hennelly admits there are still many hurdles to clear before she can open Espanola’s first tap room, she’s hoping it can open in spring 2014. Hennelly has already purchased the former Rio Grande Cafe, but she still needs to get Blue Heron on the agenda to be approved by city council, and obtain a liquor license from the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, a process that Hennelly said can take up to three months.
Even with the challenges that lie ahead, Hennelly said she’s been pleased in her dealings with the city so far. She’s already had a positive meeting with Mayor Alice Lucero and she was set to meet with the Planning and Zoning Department this week.
Planning and Zoning Director Russell Naranjo was on vacation at press time and was unavailable for comment on the project.