After devastating fire, brewery plans beer garden, restaurant just north of Fresno
Dan Riley calls the brewery he built with his family a “forever endeavor.”
Meaning that sooner or later, his children will take over and the company has planned accordingly.
Riley’s Brewing Co. has started the first step of a two-phase project that will build a new brewery, restaurant, taproom and farmers market event center as part of the master-planned Riverstone Community off Highway 41 and Avenue 12 in Madera.
It will be part of the burgeoning 2,000-acre development just north of Fresno and a complement to the Riverwalk center, which already has its own Dutch Bros Coffee, Papi’s Mex Grill and Fresh Fill convenience store.
Riley’s 12,000-plus square-foot tap room and events center should open first next year at the end of Business 41 near Avenue 12.
Riley expects to start digging dirt in three months, permits pending, with construction taking another eight months.
Inside, all of the brewery’s beer will be available, with a few guest beers on tap, plus wines and ciders and soda for the kids. It will be a modular space, designed to be all ages and inclusive. There will be what Riley calls a social gathering area: a place for playing games, maybe pickleball or shuffleboards or darts. A few days each week, it will serve as a farmers market space with local produce and food vendors.
Interested vendors can start contacting Riley now.
“Ultimately it’s a beer garden,” Riley says.
“It’s designed to kind of be the local hangout.”
In truth, how the space will ultimately be used is somewhat up in the air, Riley says. It will be based on the needs and wants of the community.
That’s always been Riley’s business philosophy: “Find out what your customer wants and just give it to them.”
Recovering from Riley’s brewery fire
All brewing will continue for now in Sanger, where Riley’s has been operating in partnership with House of Pendragon since a fire destroyed Riley’s facility last year.
In May, the brewery settled a claim with its insurance company for the damages, which were immense.
“Eleven years of work disappeared in one night,” Riley says.
The new location is about 15 miles east of the facility destroyed near Madera.
What’s happened since has been due in large part to community support, he says, and the company will be giving back through fundraisers and events.
Phase two will be restoring brewing operations in Madera County, along with a second Riley’s restaurant. This will be a dining experience similar to the Elbow Room in Fresno, Riley says. There is no concrete timeline on that second phase, but he expects it will be in the next five years.
“We are absolutely building it to service the community.”
This story was originally published June 15, 2023 at 1:32 PM.