SLO Brew is reopening its shuttered downtown bar, restaurant. What’s next for the space?
A shuttered bar and restaurant in downtown San Luis Obispo has re-launched under a new business model.
The owners of The Carrisa at SLO Brew, located at 736 Higuera St., closed the creekside establishment as a full-scale restaurant and bar in March, citing the impacts of coronavirus-related shutdowns.
SLO Brew has operated a bar in the downtown area for more than 30 years, originally under the ownership of Mike Hoffman and Kathy Ireland.
Now, SLO Brew business partners Rodney Cegelski and Hamish Marshall are promoting The Carrisa as an venue for weddings, parties, corporate events and holiday gatherings.
The space will also be open to restaurateurs who want to rent it as a temporary, pop-up kitchen.
“We wanted to establish The Carrisa as a premier event venue,” Cegelski said. “We also open every Thursday to the community as a long-gone pint night. That program is all about the community and open to college students and late night patrons.”
All reservations “include the bar tab for the entire event” and offer “both indoor and outdoor spaces, including the beautiful creekside deck,” according to Brian Kerr, SLO Brewing Co.’s marketing director.
In the case of events and pint night, The Carrisa will stay open until 2 a.m.
When the partners considered what it would take to re-establish The Carissa as a restaurant and bar after COVID-19 restrictions loosened, Cegelski said, switching to the event venue model made the most sense.
The business partners have collaborated with local hotels and wedding planners to spread the word about the space’s availability.
“It’s a beautiful building that we’ve sunk millions into,” Cegelski said. “It’s disappointing that we had to close, but we keep enhancing it and hope to have more and more opportunities.”
Cegelski said the SLO Brew Lofts, a collection of five luxury short-term vacation rentals located above The Carrisa building, have been popular for guest stays and that’s helped sustain the company’s ability to operate there.
SLO Brew’s commercial properties include The Rock, a restaurant and event space on Aerovista Lane in San Luis Obispo that also houses a 30-barrel brewhouse, canning line and tasting room.
In addition to its SLO Brew line of craft beers, the company produces canned beer, wine and mixed drinks through its Tio Rodrigo and Porch Pounder brands, and bourbon and rye whiskey through its Rod & Hammer’s SLO Stills distillery.
The SLO Brew owners sold their Cali-Squeeze brand to Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Paso Robles in July.
SLO Brew’s Tio Rodrigo label launches hard seltzer line
News of The Carissa’s rebrand coincided with the launch of a new line of canned hard seltzers under the Tio Rodrigo label.
At a launch party on Thursday, SLO Brew introduced Tio Rodrigo’s so-called “margarita seltzers” featuring three tropical flavors — piña (pineapple ginger), mangonado (mango chamoy) and sandía (watermelon mint).
The margarita-inspired seltzers are crafted with blue agave tequila, lime juice and salt.
The bubbly drinks are gluten free and have 140 calories per 12-ounce serving. At 7% alcohol, they’re “stronger than most seltzers on the market,” according to a news release.
Cegelski said the new margarita seltzers are available on tap at The Rock, where bartenders can make them taste even closer to a pure margarita.
The canned seltzers are also available at retailers throughout California, including local Vons grocery stores and some Albertsons and Grocery Outlet supermarket locations, Cegelski said.
Cegelski said the line is being distributed regionally to help expand brand recognition beyond San Luis Obispo County.
He added that Tio Rodrigo’s new product aims to compete with drinks produced by larger national brands such as Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
“There aren’t a lot of canned margarita seltzers on the market, so we hope to make our mark,” Cegelski said.
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