Sequoia Brewing making a comeback in Fresno. Here’s the plans from new owners

One could mark the significance of Sequoia Brewing Company by the scuttlebutt that followed the closure if its three restaurants in February and the posting of a new liquor license application in the window of its Tower District location in August.

“The rumors in the neighborhood, the amount of discussion about this in the communities, people do still care,” says Scott Miller, a partner in Second Growth Brewing — which has taken over the business and is looking to revive the brand.

On Tuesday, the group announced it would be reopening Sequoia Brewing Company first in north Fresno at Champlain and Perrin avenues and then its anchor location on Olive Avenue next to the Tower Theatre.

The north Fresno spot will have its grand re-opening (complete with a Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting) Oct. 10.

The Tower District restaurant should open in the following weeks, hopefully by Halloween, Miller says, though the company is still working through that and no official date has been set.

A legacy continued

Sequoia Brewing Company was a pioneer in Fresno’s craft beer scene when it opened as Butterfield Brewing in 1989. It was run by the late master brewer Kevin Cox and at its height, produced more than 50,000 gallons of beer a year. That business ultimately faltered and Cox went on to be a co-founder at Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company. But the rebranded Sequoia Brewing Company became a staple in the Tower under the ownership of Michele and Scott Kendall.

They opened a second location (on Champlain Avenue) in 2005, followed by a third on Main Street in downtown Visalia.

The Kendalls sold all three restaurants in 2020. It’s unclear exactly why the new owners closed the restaurants earlier this year, but the business was behind on rent at both its Fresno locations, and an eviction notice had been filed, according to court documents.

It was the Kendalls who first hinted at the idea that Sequoia Brewing Company could be saved.

“We’re diligently working on this,” Michele Kendall told The Bee in February.

“I just don’t want people to think this is the end.”

Changes coming to Sequoia Brewing?

The new Sequoia Brewing will be much like the old Sequoia Brewing.

Much of the original staff is being brought back, including the general managers from both Fresno locations.

Andrew Ford, who had been the brew master prior to the closing, will also return to oversee the brewing operations, which means most of the beer recipes will return (the company also has been testing a few new brews on tap on Gazebo Gardens).

“There’s a new IPA we think people are going to like,” says Miller, who also owns Gazebo Gardens.

There will be some slight tweaks to the food menu, he says.

Stacey Dwyer has been hired as the brewery’s operations manager. She comes to the job as a veteran of the craft beer industry and someone who understands the local scene. She worked with New Belgium Brewing Company and was also around for the opening of Goldstein’s Mortuary and Delicatessen and the beer garden at Gazebo Gardens. She’s also the co-host of the local podcast The Perfect Pour.

When Miller started thinking of people to bring in on this venture, “she was my literal first phone call.”

For decades now, Sequoia Brewing Company has been more than a restaurant/bar. It’s been a quintessential third space, Miller says; one that was frequented by the whole partnership group.

It’s the reason they decided to revive the brand and something they didn’t want to change.

“We were all customers of Sequoia,” Miller says. His history with the spot goes back to its days as Butterfield’s. His daughter’s first baby shower gift was a onesie from the brewery’s former owners.

“To let this place not go away,” he says, “that was really important to us.”