“Usually after the first couple of songs, it’s incumbent upon someone to yell out, ‘Keep your day job.’”
– Dan Monnat on the Crime Doctors, a band made up of criminal defense attorneys, who are reuniting Thursday at Loft 150 for a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society benefit
WICHITA — When brewing equipment was installed at River City Brewery before it opened in Old Town 17 years ago, a wall was then built around it.
“Nobody probably gave a lot of thought back then to removing the equipment,” says Chris Arnold, who along with Jeff Johnson bought the business in 1999.
“Our brewing equipment is on its last legs,” Arnold says.
Since he’ll have to remove the wall anyway to get the equipment out and new equipment in, Arnold says he and Johnson are using the opportunity to remodel.
The tentative start date is June 1. The restaurant will remain open by temporarily moving upstairs to Loft 150 for the three or four weeks the remodeling takes.
The current brewing area has a small series of arched windows, but the equipment isn’t entirely visible.
After installation of the new equipment, which is coming from Canada, there will be a solid glass wall so customers can seeing the brewing in action.
Currently, River City brews six beers. That will increase to eight.
“The cool part about that is one of them will be a brewer’s choice tap,” Arnold says.
That means the selection could change every few weeks.
There also will be a new island-style bar with seating all around it and an expanded cocktail area with new and bigger TVs to attract more of a crowd for sporting events.
Arnold says the rest of the restaurant with its old timbers won’t change.
“I love the way we feel like an old warehouse.”