Turlock’s Dust Bowl Brewing closes its downtown taproom due to coronavirus pandemic
The ongoing coronavirus outbreak and subsequent shutdowns have claimed a high-profile Central Valley victim — Dust Bowl Brewing Company’s original downtown Turlock taproom.
The brewery’s downtown location, at the corner of Main Street and Broadway, first opened in 2011 some two years after the craft beer company started brewing in a small industrial part of Turlock. The company plans to keep open its two other taprooms — its brewery headquarters and new Monterey depot — which have both since reopened.
“Sometimes in business you are forced to make hard decisions, and the decision to close our original taproom is certainly one of them. The ramifications of COVID really made us reevaluate our entire business model,” said company founder and co-owner Brett Tate. “We will always be grateful for the Downtown Taproom and our loyal downtown customers. It was a true catalyst to our business and helped to establish craft beer culture in the Central Valley.”
To make up for the loss of the taproom downtown, the company has invested to expand its beer garden and outdoor options at its existing brewery-taproom on Fulkerth Road. The 30,000-square-foot building was built from the ground up and first opened in 2016. During the shutdown, the company invested in a new beer garden and has installed 20 tap lines to service the outdoor seating area.
The brewery has also purchased a food trailer which will serve like a separate restaurant for the beer garden. To make the area more comfortable during hot Central Valley summers, large trees have been planted through the area to provide shade. The outdoor area has picnic table seating.
“We’re trying to see the silver lining in all the recent challenges,” said Dust Bowl co-owner Brett Honoré. “We were able to rethink our business and take the time to invest in making the experience at our primary location even better.”
The company said most of its downtown taproom staff is now working at the larger brewery taproom, including its chefs. Some of the downtown restaurant’s special menu items have also been combined in the brewery menu.
Honoré said combining all of their efforts into one Turlock location will help the company’s long-term viability. And it will allow them to focus on turning the Fulkerth Road location into “a craft beer destination for locals and beer fans alike.”
The company, which started 2009, celebrated its 10-year anniversary and opened its new taproom site in Monterey last year.
Reservations are recommended for dine-in seating at the Fulkerth brewery taproom, and the new beer garden can take walk-in guests. Groups are limited to eight people for inside or outside seating. The company also has a new online ordering system created for the company to allow touchless to-go orders of food, growlers, crowlers, packaged beer and more.
For more information visit https://dustbowlbrewing.com.
Elsewhere around the Business Beat:
Smart & Final Extra! is opening its first Turlock location on Wednesday.
The new grocery chain location will be in the Turlock Town Center at the corner of Golden State Boulevard and Canal Drive. The store celebrates its grand opening at 7 a.m. Wednesday. Its regular hours will be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Smart & Final Extra! features a larger selection of products, more like a traditional supermarket with a wide variety of individual and bulk-sized products. A new Smart & Final Extra! opened in downtown Modesto in 2017.
The company’s new Turlock location is in the same shopping center as the 99 Cent Only store, Big 5 Sporting Goods and Rite Aid.
This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Turlock’s Dust Bowl Brewing closes its downtown taproom due to coronavirus pandemic."
