Bigger Bosque
Brewery planning to expand into two new facilities next year, including a new headquarters
Next year is going to be a big one for Bosque Brewing Co., with the local brewery planning to open two new locations.
In May, Bosque Brewing will be moving its Albuquerque headquarters from 8900 San Mateo NE to a new, 15,000-square-foot facility on Venice and Pan American Freeway NE.
“It was a huge desire of ours to stay in the same area,” said Gabe Jensen, marketing director and co-owner. “People in the area really helped us get through those first few years and we want to stick around.”
Construction on the new location is slated to begin in November, according to Jensen.
“The old space was great to get us started, but as we’ve grown we take up more parking, and the kinds of things that we want to do, a new space just made sense,” Jensen said. “(The move is) mainly to have a more fully functioning brewery.”
The current location measures 11,000 square feet, but Jensen said it is divided up over several areas and he and fellow owners want a more open and organized space.
Bosque Brewing will also open a new, 18,000-square-foot production facility and taproom in February at the former site of Jackalope in Bernalillo.
The Bernalillo location will be part of a development being spearheaded by Phil Lindborg of Dragonfly Development and will focus on packaging and shipping Bosque Brewing beer.
Jensen said the Bernalillo facility will be focused on “really turning out those sixpacks,” but the Albuquerque location is designed for more experimentation on the part of the brewers.
“The whole purpose is for our brewers to have an open space to experiment and have fun,” he said.
The new Albuquerque location will be a three-story structure with a full kitchen where Bosque will turn out “high-end pub food,” said Jensen.
The first floor will have the taproom and brewing facilities. Jensen said none of the seating will be on the bottom floor, but it will have a sunken back patio with games and “a large backyard feel.” The layout will also offer customers a view of the brewing facilities.
The second story will be for the restaurant and will include seating. It will also have a wraparound outdoor patio and an interior balcony overlooking the brewery.
The top floor will be a rooftop patio with a 360-degree view of the surrounding area, with the Sandias to the east and Balloon Fiesta Park to the west.
According to Jensen, the two new locations will mean hiring more employees, but Bosque isn’t sure at this point how many more. “It all depends on how many of our packaging line people the Bernalillo location steals away,” Jensen said.