USA, TX: Pondaseta Brewing Company to expand to second location in Canyon

The City of Canyon and the Canyon Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) announced an agreement last week for Amarillo-based Pondaseta Brewing Company to expand to a second location in Canyon at the historic Sante Fe Depot on 2nd Avenue, the Amarillo Globe-News reported on May 22.

Trevor Martin and Kaleb West, who are originally from Canyon, have been looking for a second location to increase their production capacity to expand the distribution of their products in the state. The pair met from a family friend and formed a Texas country band together in college called the Newton Road Ramblers.

According to West, Pondaseta is already the largest brewery in the Panhandle, and this expansion will give them the ability to produce twice as much beer in the short term, with the space and capability to increase it tenfold in the future. Currently, the brewery serves about 85 clients and self-distributes its product across Amarillo, Canyon and Lubbock. The new capability will be able to produce about 3,000 barrels of beer.

Martin and West both got started brewing their beer at home. They moved into their current location on 45th Avenue near Coulter Street, which is a converted auto shop that utilizes its large garage doors in its brewing area. The hope is to be able to have more room in the brewing area, which has a more industrial utilitarian vibe that contrasts greatly with the upscale modern pub area in the main room.

“We have a passion for the production of beer,” West said. “Getting into the idea of pairing food and beer has always been very interesting to us. This new location will give the ability to produce a significantly greater volume of beer.”

West said that when the pair decided to open a brewery, they contemplated multiple markets in Texas and in Florida. Cities looked at were Austin, Lubbock, Canyon and Amarillo in Texas and Winter Garden and Tampa areas of Florida. In their first year of operation, Pondastea had brewed more than 100 unique beers.

Reflecting on the past five years of opening his first brewery, West said that he so appreciated the acceptance of the community that supported his endeavor. He said that all the challenges that were experienced under COVID-19 when the future of his business was uncertain to where they are now have really given him a great perspective as a business owner.

“It has been a lot of hard work, and we have had so much support from friends and family,” West said.

Expounding on the expansion and the future of the business, West, the co-owner of Pondaseta, said that this second location was in development for about three years, and it has been a dream to own a business for him and his partner in their hometown for the last decade.

“There is a lot of excitement in a homecoming for our business in the place where we grew up,” West said. “There is something special about doing this in our hometown, and this is an area where the market is underserved. Opening our second location here allows us to grow our connection to our community, make more beer, increase our local presence, and expand our distribution footprint to more parts of Texas.”

Using the Sante Fe Depot for its new location is extremely exciting to West with the architecture of the building. He said that he would like to utilize as much aesthetically as possible from the original building’s era, but a full restoration would not be possible since much of that infrastructure is missing.

Owned by the city since the early 1990s, the Sante Fe Depot is an Adobe Deco building completed in 1925. West said due to the disrepair of the building, a complete restoration to its original design would not be possible with many of the original markings, hardware and trappings gone or vandalized.

“We really think that this new venture will help attract a level of tourism and new residents to the community by creating a modern amenity in almost every town across the United States,” West said.

He sees Canyon as a perfect location for the new brewery as he seeks to have a family-friendly place that can attract professionals. Expansion of distribution throughout all of West Texas is the goal for West and Martin.

The new space will be occupied by most of its brewing equipment and its canning section for its retail product, which will also open up more space in its current location, where the equipment has outgrown its space. At the new location, a restaurant will be in the building, which is unique from its current location, which has to use a mobile kitchen.

Situated on a 3.2-acre tract of land, the new location will have $650,000 in renovations, adding $300,000 in equipment and moving $200,000 in brewing equipment from its Amarillo location. The timeline for opening the Canyon location is about a year from the date of the agreement. There will be an option to purchase the new location from the city within three years, with an opportunity for the city to buy back at a future date.

Future development on the site will be available to create a warehouse space and increase brewing capability.

The new location projects to create 20 new full-time jobs, averaging $35,000 annual income. These jobs will include hospitality and production staff. Once opened, the new location is expected to exceed $1 million in its first calendar year.

As part of the City of Canyon’s 380 Agreement for economic development incentives, the City has agreed to advance funds for the following items:

Building Permit Fee waived by City
$16,470 Asbestos abatement, structural engineering assessment and report
$40,000 Water main extension and fire hydrant (excluding service line on site)
$5,300 2-inch service line and meter connection
According to a news release, in addition to economic development incentives, additional funding of up to $200,000 may come from the CEDC in the form of a project funding agreement relating to direct financial assistance and job incentives for new businesses. Canyon City Commission passed this incentive agreement unanimously at the May 15 meeting for its first reading, but it will go to the final vote on June 5.

“Seeing two hometown families bring their growing business to Canyon to offer something we currently don’t have is so special,” CEDC Director Stephanie Tucker said. “The historic charm of the Santa Fe Depot, a family-friendly environment, amazing food, and their world-renowned brewery will be another reason visitors flock to Canyon while locals have a place to host special events or just enjoy an afternoon with friends.”

22 May, 2023