Co-founders and owners Brian Allen and Kris Szecsy added to the ever-expanding craft beer scene with the opening of the city’s first craft brewery and brewpub, BAKFISH Brewing Co., on March 14.
“It’s a proud moment,” Allen said. “[It is nice] to not only be in a market that wants this and wants to be a destination [city], but it’s also the community I’ve grown up in.”
Allen and Szecsy—who met through Krewe de Thalasar in Galveston—transformed a home-brewing hobby into an operation with the ability to make 60 kegs per batch. BAKFISH also features a 2,000-square-foot taproom where patrons can enjoy selections brewed on-site. With its outdoor patio, the facility includes seating for about 300.
Five beers make up the regular rotation at BAKFISH, and seasonal and experimental beers will be available throughout the year, Allen said.
“We’re going to keep changing it up and just kind of see what the feedback is,” he said. “That’s part of the fun of being able to create beers on the fly: You can have that variety and choose whatever you want at any time.”
Although BAKFISH is limited to only selling beer on-site, Allen said he hopes to get approval to distribute to restaurants and bars in about a month. There are also plans to begin canning BAKFISH beer by August or September, he said.
Allen and Szecsy said they have been overwhelmed by the local support during their first month.
“The very first day we opened, we had a line from our bar to the front door from about 4-8 p.m.,” Allen said. “We had cars lined up—not only a full parking lot—but [also] up and down each side of Shauntel Street.”
