Elk Grove’s Coatza Brewing to move into Hungry Pecker’s former Old Town location
Old Town Elk Grove brewer Hungry Pecker is giving way to Coatza Brewing.
The local beer maker plans to open at Hungry Pecker’s old digs in the city’s historic district in the spring and onto an increasingly crowded Elk Grove craft brew pub market. City business filings show Coatza’s owners filed papers for the location at 9251 Elk Grove Blvd., in mid-January.
Coatza purchased brewing equipment from Hungry Pecker in what Enrique Silva, one of Coatza’s business partners, on Wednesday called a “turnkey” transaction. The name, Silva explained, is short for Coatzacoalcos, the city in Mexico’s coastal Veracruz state home to Silva’s parents and grandparents.
The brewpub has signed on two master brewers who will craft a selection of stouts, porters, sours and IPAs as well as a non-alcohol root beer. In a nod to Veracruz’s Mayan roots, Coatza also plans to feature a beer crafted from a 3,000-year-old recipe discovered by the brewers. Silva would only say the recipe was uncovered through “a lot of research.”
Enrique Silva, a resident of Elk Grove, and Sacramento attorney Hendrick Crowell are also behind the planned Old Town taproom venture 31 Tap slated for 8949 Elk Grove Blvd. Silva said 31 Tap’s plans will take a brief back seat until Coatza is up and running.
“It’s taking longer — we have to build out,” Silva said of 31 Tap. Silva anticipated opening 31 Tap first, but the Hungry Pecker site “fell in our lap. Because it’s turnkey, we can open up sooner. Once (Coatza) is up and running, we’ll go back” to 31 Tap. “We will be on each end of Old Town. Like my wife said, we’ll be bookends of Old Town Elk Grove.”
This story was originally published February 9, 2023 at 8:12 AM.
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