USA, CO: MainStage Brewing Co. to launch in downtown Lyons on May 22

If walls could talk, the red sandstone building at 450 Main St. on the west side of downtown Lyons would have captivating stories to tell, the Longmont Times-Call reported on May 19.

Now, its next chapter is about to begin.

Starting at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 22, co-owners Sam Scruby and Eric Kean will open their new business, MainStage Brewing Co., at the location.

Inside the 2,000-square-foot building, customers will find a selection of 14 craft beers to pair with a menu of pizza and chicken. Scruby and Kean leased the kitchen to Henry Myers, of Kinfolk Pizza + Chicken, who will be cooking up hand tossed pizza, chicken wings and boneless chicken strips. Outside, the 3,200-square-foot patio, which is dog friendly, will provide the chance to soak in some spring sunshine, while sipping an icy, foamy brew.

In the next two to three weeks, there will be live music performances and later this year, the business partners also have plans to start brewing their own beer.

Kean, of Longmont, grew up in Lyons and wants to see the business help the town thrive.

“Lyons community has been up, down, right, left through the ringer a couple of times in the last 10 years,” he said. “There (are) some amazing nonprofits in town, some amazing folks doing good things for the community. Being a role player and leader in those efforts for us is huge. We can’t wait for people to walk through the door and say ‘I have an idea for how to use the space.’ We’re ready to contribute to the fabric of Lyons.”

Kean has a history with the building himself, including a short stint as a dishwasher at one of its restaurants when he was 15 years old — a job he thought had sworn him off the path to ever work in the food industry for good.

Then, he met his friend Scruby, while they were both students at the University of Colorado Boulder. A desire to open up their own business together one day was sparked by a shared love of craft beer. Both graduated from CU Boulder, Scruby with a bachelor’s degree in economics, Kean with a bachelor’s in music education. Today, Kean is also working on a master of business administration from the University of Colorado Denver.

The business partners have hired about 10 full and part-time staffers to work at MainStage. While it will be the first business they’ve ever run together, both have experience working in breweries.

Scruby, who grew up in Glenwood Springs and now lives in Gunbarrel, has been brewing beer professionally for the past seven to eight years and formerly worked as a head brewer at Upslope Brewing Company. For Kean’s part, for 2½ years, he ran a foundation and community events at Left Hand Brewing Company.

With state and local public health officials curbing back coronavirus pandemic restrictions, the business partners said they look forward to opening in a time when people can safely gather again.

“We’re excited to open,” Scruby said. “I think everyone is excited to get out and go see their friends. I think everyone has felt cooped up for a year. We’ve got a nice spot outdoors where people can feel safe and have a great experience — I think communities as a whole missed out on that space to gather.”

20 May, 2021