Loose Screw brews up new location in downtown Meridian

Just over two months since opening its doors, Loose Screw Beer Co. continues to tighten up every aspect of its newest operation in downtown Meridian.

“We’re continually working at this location,” said Mike Garcia, who along with his wife Pam, owns and operates Meridian’s only brewery. “It’s a beast what we have built here and it has made a big splash in downtown.”

Located on Main Street across from the city post office, the brewery is the second Loose Screw location and offers patrons a more “elevated experience” than the original taproom on McMillan Road in Meridian.

“Typical breweries offer lots of light industrial space converted to a brewery,” Garcia said. “All are good and fine, but we went with a different scheme here.”

Even so, and with two decades of highly relevant experience handling financing for food and beverage operations, the process of getting the taps flowing was slower and longer than Garcia anticipated.

“We initially were targeting Dairy Days in July, having the parade go right by here,” Garcia said, shaking his head. “But we didn’t come close to that.”

For Pam, a mother of two, who handles the brewery’s social media and event planning when not working as a nurse two days a week, easing into the opening was a blessing.

“Initially we had hoped for an earlier opening date,” she said. “But in hindsight, it worked out great as we were able to work out some of the kinks before the busy season comes. It worked out the way it was supposed to.”

Having perused more than a few breweries for work and other purposes, Garcia figured a soft opening was the right way to break in the new location.

“I’ve seen too many businesses open with a ribbon cutting, huge grand opening, which we have not done, and then you have people standing around waiting an hour for a beer,” he said. “That’s not the first experience I wanted for our customers.”

Better late than never for lovers of craft beer, as evidenced by a full-house crowd that filled the venue on New Year’s Eve, a much bigger crowd than Garcia expected.

With a simple sign posted out front, and some brief mentions on social media, Nov. 18 marked the first day the brewery began brewing up business.

“From start to finish, we have been working on this project for about two-and-a-half years to the point that we actually opened the doors, he said. “It was nine months of construction and quite a bit of pre-planning work.”

Encompassing 10,000 square feet of space, the site’s main section can accommodate up to 200 patrons, with room on the patio, or beer garden, for 200 more. An upstairs room for special events or parties can comfortably host 40.

Just off the main front entrance, a dimly lit lounge area is available, specifically designed without televisions to provide a quaint and more private atmosphere. And there is even a workspace area for those who drop in to mix and match a beverage with their laptop.

“I think we have tried to create a space for everybody. Breweries are known for being social gathering spots, like a hub,” said Garcia, who serves as vice president of Idaho Brewers United (IBU), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and expanding Idaho’s craft beer industry.

Plans for expansion were always brewing for Garcia after purchasing the McMillan Road Loose Screw location three years ago. Finding the right second spot turned out to be a bit of a process.

But his strong community connections led him to a plot of land with a plot twist of its own. The parcel housing the new downtown brewery once served as a funeral home, The Chapel of the Chimes. Ironically, the name of the family that owned the business? Brewer.

Yes, as in “one who brews beer.”

“It used to have a garage for the hearse and an apartment built above where the owner lived,” Garcia said, smiling. “When we came into possession of the property, it was about 30% demoed.”

In fact, Cole Valley Christian School then owned the land for about 15 years, using it mostly for storage. The parcel sat vacant until Garcia set his sights on it, realizing the lot checked all the right boxes for what he envisioned, including moving his production operation with two full-time brewers from Garden City to Meridian.

“A second location had to have production space because the state of Idaho mandates that you can only have two taprooms and one has to be attached to your production facility,” he said.

The new brewery features 22 taps, including cider and non-beer options for non-beer drinkers. “I want the quality of beer and the environment to coexist under one roof,” Garcia said.

Other key considerations beyond a large taproom and a beer garden, parking and easy access for pedestrians.

“We looked at other project possibilities but they didn’t allow for customers to walk or bike to a development such as ours,” Garcia said. “Plus, we really liked the feeling you get in old downtown Meridian.”

Ditto for Pam.

“We knew we wanted to be in downtown. We could feel the potential with all the other great businesses there,” she said. “We want to see a lot of people downtown supporting all these local businesses, not just ours.”

According to Sean Evans, president and CEO of the Meridian Chamber of Commerce, the new brewery blends well within the downtown business community.

“Mike took a piece of property that had sat vacant for almost 20 years and transformed it,” Evans said. “It’s a prime location right in downtown where we want to see redevelopment.”

To help twist the screws and turn the lot into the brewery they envisioned, the Garcias used their strong community ties to launch the massive renovation project.

“Digging into an older building that had been vacant for so long, we just put our trust in the people who were working with us and the community to support us,” Pam said.

Garcia poured out lots of praise for local architect and designer Jim Escobar.

“Jim was a godsend. He took my needs and wants and created the most efficient use of space with this project,” Garcia said.

Paige Mechanical Group, Saucerman Construction and Garcia’s golfing buddy Tyler Bowen, owner of Rocky Mountain Electric, all contributed structural, electrical and plumbing work.

“We tried to use trades within this project from people I knew or from someone within the community who has supported us in the past,” he said. “It would have been a cheap project if we could have cut out the plumbing, electrical and HVAC work.”

Joshua Binder, a local welder and woodworker, added his touch to the brewery’s overall aesthetics. Binder designed the tables, crafting the tabletops from oak and elm, while using another local business, Red Band Fabrication in Caldwell to weld the frames.

He and Garcia met two years ago at the original site. Following the passing of Binder’s son, Garcia held a fundraiser for the family and the two have remained friends since.

For Binder, building a brewery from the ground up is all about community partnerships.

“Doing the tables was my first big job like that,” he said. “It was all about one small business asking another small business to do something to benefit both. I hope this will be the start of something new.”

Also doing something new is Carlos Garay, owner of Big Beantz Tacos. He, too, got to know the Garcias through the local brewery circuit, and didn’t hesitate to accept Garcia’s offer for a permanent onsite spot selling his popular tacos.

“I was onboard immediately when we started talking about it,” Garay said. “I knew a trailer or food truck would be the next step in my business. I just didn’t know we’d have a permanent spot like we do here at Loose Screw.”

Previously, Garay ran his operation as a traveling or pop-up businesses, providing food service to an assortment of venues and events held throughout the valley.

Beer and tacos, or as Garica describes it, “a bite and a beer,” form a tight combination for many customers.

“It’s uncommon now in the industry to just have a taproom and to just pour beer,” he said. “You’ve got to have some type of a food component to help you survive.”

As well as some unique design features that make an establishment stand out. The new brewery features Chevron tile backsplash, custom wallpaper featuring the city’s famed water tower, a nod to the State of Idaho, and of course, the Loose Screw logo.

There is even a keg converted to a urinal in the men’s room. Open-area sinks are strategically situated prior to entering the bathroom facilities.

“We’ve gone through every square inch of this place trying to add unique flares and touches,” Garcia said. “Everything we did, we tried to incorporate an elevated kind of custom look.”

“His vision, his plans for completely re-doing that corner took shape, and the place looks amazing,” Evans said. “It’s really helping to extend the activities of our downtown.”

The new location is already proving to be a solid draw from a number of surrounding communities.

“We thought downtown Meridian warranted this type of location with a lot of folks coming from Middleton or Boise,” Garcia said.

“It’s special to see our local community coming in,” Pam said. “We’ve had this vision for so long, and hearing the positive feedback is a great feeling.”

A feeling the Garcias hope will outlast other businesses, maybe even one such as a funeral home.

“I might have a bit of a biased opinion, but I think we have built the nicest brewery in Idaho,” he said smiling.