Diamond Bear Brewing Co. is working to open a new restaurant, Arkansas Alehouse, this month at its new headquarters in North Little Rock, Russ Melton, company president, said Tuesday.
The brew pub will seat 120 to 130 diners and an addition tap room will seat another 25.
Diamond Bear has already hired 15 people to help staff the restaurant and other aspects of Diamond Bear, Melton said.
The roughly 1,500-SF restaurant will offer all of Diamond Bear’s beers along with “European-inspired brew pub fare,” said Matt Beachboard, general manager of Diamond Bear. The food offerings will include freshly made pretzels, brats, soups, sandwiches and “a couple of really interesting appetizers,” including a take on beer nuts. “It’s an Amsterdam favorite,” he said.
In addition, Beachboard said, Diamond Bear plans to open this year an event room that will accommodate up to 50 people.
The brewery is in the process of moving from its former Little Rock home to 600 N. Broadway in North Little Rock, a 16,000-SF facility that once housed bicycle company Orbea USA. Orbea has moved to 119 Main St. in downtown Little Rock.
Diamond Bear, which was founded in 2000, has two divisions, Melton said, the alehouse, which is the restaurant and retail side, and the brewhouse, the production side. Most of the new hires are for the alehouse, he said.
The actual date for the restaurant to open is still “up in the air,” Melton said. “We’re in a hurry to do it right.”
Video
Arkansas Business news partner THV 11 News went inside Diamond Bear’s new facility:
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