Magnolia Brewing Company announced that its newest location, Magnolia Dogpatch, is now open. Formerly Smokestack, the redesigned industrial space features a full-service restaurant, brewery, beer garden, and, later, a 5,000-square-foot event space. With an expanded, multi-faceted space, Magnolia Dogpatch serves as a community gathering place to grab a beer with friends, cheer on a favorite sports team, enjoy a casual family dinner, and more. The neighborhood is rooted in the American Industrial Center; with a craft brewery and inventive design, Magnolia Dogpatch aims to be a vital part of this creative community and support local makers whenever possible.
The opening of Magnolia Dogpatch marks a new direction for the 21-year-old Magnolia Brewing Company. The beloved Bay Area brand has come a long way from its Haight Street basement beginnings. Armed with a fresh perspective from an experienced leadership team, the company is both embracing its foundation and taking things further with eclectic ingredients, innovative techniques, and community-focused business practices. Leading Magnolia Brewing Company into this next chapter are Dick Cantwell, Co-Owner, President, and Director of Brewing Operations; Kim Jordan, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of New Belgium Brewing; and Brian Reccow, CEO.
Chef Laurance Gordon brings years of experience at beer-centric restaurants (Mikkeller, Belga) and breweries (Thirsty Bear Brewing Company) as well as expertise utilizing local, seasonal ingredients to Magnolia Dogpatch. He and his team, along with Magnolia Haight’s chef Roque Mendoza, have created an all-day menu of modern American fare with pops of unexpected, worldly flavors. Although each dish can be enjoyed on its own, Laurance has handcrafted bites to complement Magnolia’s beer. Menu highlights include:
- Popcorn buttery, smoky, and sweet with a hint of spice
- Magnolia Dogpatch Burger with fresh ground beef, gruyere cheese, shredded lettuce, dill pickle chips, shaved red onion, and secret sauce on a brioche bun
- Broken Falafel Salad house-made “broken” falafel, Romaine, tomato, English pea hummus, avocado, olive, onion, jalapeno, mint, and tahini lemon vinaigrette
- Roast Chicken with preserved lemon, olive condiment, and herbs
- Clams “Cioppino” clams baked in the half shell with “Cioppino” relish and herbed bread crumbs
- Burnt Cinnamon Pot De Crème with streusel and late summer berries
In the weeks after opening, Magnolia Dogpatch is also planning to debut an exciting weekend brunch and happy hour.
Magnolia was a built on an American-created version of English brewing tradition. Now the brewery is taking things further by innovating and exploring a wide variety of creative ingredients and eclectic brews. Offering a nod to time-honored brewing methods while maintaining freedom of innovative expression, these beers promise to yield a unique hybrid of old and new.
The 20 taps at Magnolia Dogpatch offer a wide selection; from the flagships Kalifornia Kolsch and Proving Ground IPA, to newer brews such as Cucumber Squeeze, a Cucumber Meyer Lemon IPA, Momomojo Smoked Peach Ale, and Aliciela Bitter, a beer crafted from a selection of botanicals grown on the living roof of the California Academy of Sciences. Taps will change frequently, with new offerings weekly. In addition to the beer brewed on site, the brewery and restaurant pours beer from partners New Belgium and Oud Beersel.
Beer is available for purchase in cans and growlers. Wine is also served, and later a cocktail program will be featured.
Co-owners Cantwell and Jordan, who represents New Belgium, worked with interior designer Hannah Collins with the intention of re-concepting the way people think about breweries. The result is a community gathering place that guests can experience in a variety of ways. Hannah and her team incorporated vintage and modern as well as masculine and feminine elements to create beautiful juxtapositions throughout the old warehouse. San Francisco’s 1960s-1970s heyday was a particular era of focus.
The dining room at Magnolia Dogpatch features the original marble-topped main bar, terrazzo tables, banquettes, and a large communal table. Above the latter is a pendant light fixture by Eric Ginder. The opposite wall and hallway are wrapped with repurposed vintage wallpaper and dotted with headlights inspired by the classic Volkswagen bus.
The main dining room was designed to look and feel like a sunken living room: plush and inviting. Anchored by a steel blue banquette, the lights above were custom-designed by Hannah’s team and modeled after birds perched on a high wire. A large “Make Love Not War” poster adds to the groovy vibe.
In the indoor beer garden, bleachers and blue metal tables blending American picnic and German beer hall styles welcome groups of any size. Large planters wrap the poles and add a bit of lush greenery to the industrial space. A desaturated mural behind the bleachers speaks to the artistic, communal atmosphere Magnolia Dogpatch hopes to inspire.
