According to BrewDog, it is bringing the first-ever carbon-negative bar to Las Vegas. The grand opening of its new rooftop bar in the heart of Sin City is slated for Friday, December 2nd, 2022. Like many things BrewDog has done in the past, it sounds kind of crazy. The company, and its owners, are certainly no strangers to the headlines.
But before we talk about the top-of-the-world, over-the-moon Las Vegas plan, I have a question for you. Is there such a thing as “the McDonald’s of craft beer?” That is a rather harsh way to introduce this story, I admit. Maybe it isn’t fair to equate BrewDog with McDonald’s, but I promise there’s a Mickey D’s angle to this story.
The Scotland-based company, which has always slam danced to the beat of a different drummer, already operates over 100 locations, mostly in the UK and Europe. Its U.S. subsidiary, BrewDog USA, operates eight locations in Ohio and Pennsylvania — six bars and two hotels. BrewDog is now set to open five new locations in the USA, including three in Denver, one in Las Vegas, and one in Atlanta. In part, this latest round of stateside expansion is spurred by a new franchised brewpub initiative. Now, you too can have your own BrewDog brewpub.
The three locations in Denver are part of that franchised brewpub initiative, according to a report in the Denver Post. The first BrewDog franchise is expected to open in 2023. The franchisee is a company called HopDragon Holdings. The owner, Juan Carlos Mondragon, is no stranger to franchise deals. He owns a number of McDonald’s franchises in Mexico and is reportedly among the top McDonald’s franchisees worldwide. There’s the angle I promised.
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The concept of a brewpub franchise sounds like something new and different. We are talking about BrewDog, so it’s not surprising. Being different and a bit weird is BrewDog’s core competency. Its approach to beer has always been uncommon. It’s a sort of “go big or go bigger” philosophy.
Not Just Big, but Vegas Big
Separate from the franchise deals, BrewDog USA is opening a new location in Las Vegas that will encompass a 30,000-square-foot rooftop space. That’s more than two-thirds of an acre. The location is atop the iconic Showcase Mall on the Paradise Strip in the heart of Las Vegas, just north of the MGM Grand and across the street from the Park MGM.
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Reports say the Vegas version of BrewDog will feature a swimming pool, an urban forest, a secret event space, a retro game zone, and a beer museum. Along with that, 96 taps and an onsite brewery. They have pictures of this impressive endeavor on the website here, along with all sorts of info about the grand opening.
The grand opening celebration includes a pretty big giveaway: a $1 million dollar bar tab for one lucky attendee, which can be used in any BrewDog Bar around the world over the next twenty years.
And Opening Soon in Atlanta
Finally, BrewDog USA will soon open a location in Atlanta, Georgia. This project is not as ambitious as the Vegas location and appears to be more akin to the existing stateside BrewDog locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio. To be clear, the Las Vegas and Atlanta locations are not part of the brewpub franchise initiative.
