Dust Bowl Brewing opens Elk Grove taproom as the city crafts new history for Old Town
Dust Bowl Brewing Co.’s anticipated Elk Grove taproom is open, bringing a new anchor to the city’s historic Old Town.
The 6,000 square-foot brick-and-wood Old Town Tap House — Dust Bowl’s third following sites in Monterey and on its Turlock home turf — sits in a century-old former wine grape storehouse on Old Town’s Railroad Street just off the tracks south of Elk Grove Boulevard. Another 3,000 square feet of patio space stretches outside, its long wooden fence, Adirondack chairs, cornhole games and fire pits adding to the patio’s homey backyard touches.
The bar’s 30 taps feature Dust Bowl brews and the taproom also offers “upscale pub food,” including artisan flatbreads, gourmet burgers and tacos. Lounge seating, a traditional bar and a private events space round out the floor.
Dust Bowl Brewing Co.’s owner-founder Brett Tate calls the taproom’s aesthetic “industrial chic,” the room’s exposed brick and airy feel owing to the structure’s storehouse roots. Tate and co-owner Brett Honoré had had their eyes on the Sacramento market, long a craft brewing destination, for some time, but they were taken by the Old Town site.
“We were on a tour of Sacramento projects and the first one we saw was this — this beautiful brick building along the railroad tracks,” Honoré said. “Like it was just waiting for us to find it.”
“It felt like it was the right space for us,” Tate said. “Elk Grove reminded us a lot of Turlock and when you talk about the city right now, there’s a concerted effort to put in the infrastructure — they put their money where their thoughts are.”
The city’s new Old Town Plaza and open-air pavilion unveiled in July stand across Railroad Street.
Together, the taproom and the new-look Old Town Plaza figure prominently in the city’s plans to turn the historic east side stretch of Elk Grove Boulevard with its collection of shops and restaurants into a community gathering place.
“It really is the history of the city of Elk Grove,” Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove, said during a July tour of Old Town where he requested federal funding for streetscape improvements for the historic neighborhood. “Often, it’s been underappreciated, and, at times, neglected. But with new restaurants coming in, with the new Old Town Plaza, it is really going to pull the east side of Elk Grove and the west side of Elk Grove together and give us a place to gather as a community.”
New attention has been paid to Old Town as Elk Grove works to become a regional destination with the recent opening of the city’s new central park, The Preserve at District 56, and its courting of the Sacramento Zoo.
Plans for streetscape improvements are on the drawing board as are plans for a new city library a few blocks to the east at Elk Grove Boulevard and Waterman Road.
Since the plaza’s summer opening, crowds have found the pavilion, most recently with the hundreds who packed Elk Grove born-and-bred NASCAR champion Kyle Larson’s hometown rally in November; and the annual Dickens Christmas Faire which returned to Old Town earlier this month after 2020’s COVID hiatus.
The taproom neared the finish line following the Thanksgiving holiday. Construction crews waited for final pieces of equipment and the city’s approvals with an eye toward a mid-December open, said Dust Bowl spokeswoman Michelle Peterson in late November.
Now, Dust Bowl has hit its end-of-year target six months after a June announcement that itself was delayed after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Before sitting down with The Bee, Dust Bowl founder Tate reflected on the delay and the extra time Dust Bowl used to bring its venture to fruition.
“It’s been especially challenging to open a new business site to open a new business site amid all the additional issues created by the pandemic,” Tate said in a statement prior to Saturday’s opening. “If nothing else, the extra time allowed us to pull together a really cool, unique experience for the area. It’s situated within walking distance of the city’s new open-air pavilion where farmers’ markets, food trucks and outdoor concerts are planned, so I think it’s going to be a nice addition to the region.”
Dust Bowl will also join Elk Grove’s small but regionally popular craft brewing scene with its own devoted following. Tate said the newcomers are eager to become a part of the city’s craft beer community.
“We invited everyone locally to a soft opening for the industry and it was very encouraging,” Tate said. “We’re here to add to the beer culture that’s here and to be a part of the Sacramento area beer culture that’s here. We’re here to be a part of that.”
If you go
Dust Bowl’s Old Town Tap House
▪ Where: 9676 Railroad St. Elk Grove
▪ Hours: Monday – Thursday 4 p.m.– 9 p.m.; Friday – Saturday 11 a.m.– 10 p.m.; and Sunday 11 a.m.– 9 p.m.
▪ Phone: (916) 895-2397, during operating hours.
▪ Information: www.dustbowlbrewing.com
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