Mill Avenue nightlife entrepreneur Julian Wright’s next new concept will be Pedal Haus, a bicycle-themed brewpub, opening in downtown Tempe in 2015.
“This actually has been a dream of mine since college,” the ASU alum says. “I’ve always been a beer enthusiast. Now is the right time to take a crack at it.”
Wright’s Mill Avenue destinations currently include the Handlebar Tempe beer garden, La Bocca Urban Pizzeria & Wine Bar, and Gringo Star Street Bar.
Now, Wright (pictured) tells me he’s taking over the old Islands restaurant and neighboring retail space (once upon a time a cap shop) adjacent to the AMC Centerpoint 11 theaters.
The combined spaces will be fairly large – 8,000 square feet, with a spacious patio adding another 4,000. Pedal Haus will have a 15-barrel brewing system with nine fermenters.
“I really like European-style beers,” Wright says. “They have lots of flavor but typically a lower ABV (alcohol by volume ratio). My favorite are Belgian styles. We’ll definitely have a couple of those.”
Wright says he’s in talks with a potential head brewer, whom he hopes to have aboard by February or March. He wants to be brewing by May and open by September.
The food menu will be typical pub fare with an emphasis on burgers and fries whose “quality are as good as possible,” he says.
The brewpub also will have a large stage for live music, and Wright foresees “lots of music festivals.”
