Skydance Brewing opens new location
Native American-owned company gets taproom, brewery in downtown OKC’s Automobile Alley
About 1,000 people turned out for the grand opening Saturday of Oklahoma’s first Native American-owned brewing company in downtown Oklahoma City.
Skydance Brewing Co. celebrated its new taproom and 15-barrel brewery on 1 NE 7 St. from late morning to midnight. Skydance’s CEO, Jake Keyes, a member of the Iowa Tribe, founded Skydance in 2018 and has been developing the bar in Oklahoma City’s Automobile Alley for more than two years.
“It’s been a journey,” Keyes said. “It’s nice to see people. It’s really now just starting to hit me. We’d been so busy, immersed in trying to get this going, that it’s suddenly like, ‘Wait a minute, people are here now!’”
When the grand opening celebration began at 11 a.m., lines had already wrapped out the door of the taproom and beyond the patio.
Grant Ogle, a sales representative at the brewery, has been employed by Skydance since April and has worked in the brewing industry for many years.
“It’s been a journey. It’s nice to see people. It’s really now just starting to hit me. We’d been so busy, immersed in trying to get this going, that it’s suddenly like, ‘Wait a minute, people are here now!’”
Skydance’s CEO Jake Keyes
“This is definitely the cleanest opening I’ve ever done,” Ogle said. “Openings are usually just pure madness, but today has felt well-coordinated.”
Bobbi Gabler, Keyes’ fiancee and Skydance’s director of operations, was busy interacting with guests and assisting the taproom staff.
“We put in a lot of hours here,” said Gabler, a Mvskokee citizen. “For a job like this, you have to. But I’m really excited to see this vision happen.”
Throughout the day, guests helped themselves to Skydance’s drink options while watching football on the taproom televisions, enjoying the upstairs lounge or playing games of cornhole on the patio.
Food trucks Callahan’s Chicago Dogs, Catfish Bayou and Lalo’s Taco Chop offered dietary delights, and diverse artists including Bread and Butter, the Flannels Duo and Shawn Proffitt provided live entertainment.
‘A little pub on a corner’
Investor Rod Alexander said he has known his friend Keyes since the founder’s time in casino management. Alexander said he met Keyes in a small Ponca City bar a few years ago to discuss his plans for Skydance.
“To be honest, I thought we’d be a little pub on a corner of Oklahoma City,” Alexander said. “But then Jake and Bobbi showed me their plans for this place, and now it’s everything we could have dreamed of. I couldn’t be more proud of them and Skydance. This is beautiful.”
Alexander said seeing the high turnout for Skydance’s opening was surreal.
“It’s going to be a very popular spot for many years,” he said.
Since inception, Skydance operated out of an Oklahoma City co-op called Brewers Union, where multiple businesses were using the same equipment. As the independent location in Automobile Alley neared completion, Skydance announced it would leave the Brewers Union for a brief hiatus, and the Brewers Union facility closed its doors.
The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges for Skydance, but Keyes said, apart from issues of timing, not much changed in plans for the brewery.
“We don’t have as much seating as we normally would have, but we always knew we wanted to have a big patio space, so that was always a part of the plan,” Keyes said.
Skydance fulfills a dream Keyes shared with his late father, who taught Keyes how to brew as a child and always wanted to own a brewery. His father’s death is what motivated him to finally put the plans for Skydance in motion.
“He’d probably be speechless right now,” Keyes said. “I don’t know if he’d have the words. He was a man of few words as it was, but if he were to see this now, he’d be beside himself.”
Culture and craft
Skydance crafts five beers, most of them styles of Indian pale ale, along with an oatmeal stout. The beer is distributed to small bars and gas stations in Oklahoma City.
“Every beer they make is phenomenal,” said Erik Peitz, of Ponca City. “If you like hazy IPAs, you’ve got the right place.”
Skydance fulfills a dream Keyes shared with his late father, who taught Keyes how to brew as a child and always wanted to own a brewery.
With names like Fancy Dance, Lighthorse, Rez Dog, Mosquito Hawk and The 49, each beer holds special meaning for Keyes, his family and his people.
“When visitors come here and see the Native American culture on display, they ask questions, and that’s our opportunity to tell the story,” Keyes said. “This is a hub of us being able to tell our story the way we really want it to be told.”
“Lighthorse,” for example, is named after the mounted police force of the Five Civilized Tribes, while “Rez Dog” is a tribute to stray canines that roam freely on tribal reservations and evokes the similar title of the acclaimed television comedy, “Reservation Dogs,” which was filmed entirely in Oklahoma.
“Fancy Dance,” a go-to beer for many regulars, is named after the most popular Native American dance performed at modern-day pow wows. It’s also the name of an artwork installed in the taproom, painted by Choctaw artist D.G. Smalling, whose drawing technique famously uses only one continuous line from start to finish.
“To be able to learn the history while working here has really opened my eyes to history that everyone in Oklahoma should know,” Ogle said.
Keyes said he wanted Skydance to serve as a lesson about ownership on different levels.
“When your story is being told wrong, and other people are owning your culture a little bit, some of it’s their fault, but some of it’s your fault, too,” Keyes said. “You’re not owning it, you’re not telling the story, you’re not putting it out there, you’re not vocal enough. You’re just allowing them to do it? You’ve got to also take responsibility and reclaim that ownership and go tell your story.”