Lagunitas Looks To Add Rooftop Bar & Concert Venue To Chicago Brewery

By Stephen Gossett in Food on Dec 2, 2016 8:55PM

(Photo: Lagunitas Taproom's Facebook)

Honestly, we’d be happy if Lagunitas did nothing more than brew and serve their amazing IPA and Little Sumpn’ Sumpin’, but lucky for all of us, they have much grander ambitions: the much-loved craft-beer operation looks to expand its local digs, in Douglas Park, to include a rooftop bar and concert venue, the Tribune reports.

Aside from the physical upgrades, Lagunitas will also reportedly beef up its brewing output in Chicago three times its present amount. That’s not surprising since the market puts a lot of pressure on craft breweries to scale up. We’re just happy to see the venue itself get some expansion love, too.

According to the Trib’s story, Lagunitas still needs to push through a zoning change—from its current Planned Manufacturing District to one that is licensed for concert events—in order to make the plan a reality.

“We've been tied and connected to music in the 24 years we've been around," brewery spokesperson Karen Hamilton told the paper. "It's what we do."

Not unlike the amphitheater concert space that Lagunitas houses at their Petaluma, CA facility, the planned onsite venue would hold between 400 and 650 spectators and welcome roughly events each year. It could be open as soon as next year, although the rooftop bar would likely not arrive until 2018, Hamilton said. Still, cheers to that.