Dana Fleming has done the islands (as lead brewer at Maui Brewing Co.). She’s done the mountains (as lead brewer at FiftyFifty Brewing Co. in Truckee).
Now, she’s doing the desert, bringing things to a head in Reno as the newly named head brewer for the FiftyFifty location set to open this August in the food hall of Reno Public Market, the $55 million redevelopment of the former Shoppers Square on West Plumb Lane.
Among her chief remits at the new brewpub, Fleming said, is to incorporate local and regional ingredients into the brewing process, like malt from 40 Mile Malt in Fallon or adjunct ingredients (say, fruits or honeys) from area producers or hops from farming co-ops in the Pacific Northwest (a supply chain already in place from the Truckee location).
“Our primary concept is farm to table,” Fleming said in an exclusive discussion with Reno News & Review. “From a business perspective, it’s a commitment to switch to local ingredients because the cost is undeniably higher, but that cost has been incorporated (into our business model).
“Our biggest challenge will be developing consistent supplier relationships, but I honestly think it’s doable. I’m hoping to make beers that allow ingredients to shine.” (For instance: hazy IPAs, rotating fruited beers, rice lagers, kettle sours and beers aged in whiskey barrels, a FiftyFifty signature.)
Small production; not copycat
The Reno FiftyFifty will initially produce about 1,000 barrels per year, a small-product level, with about a two-thirds of the beers on the list made in house and one-third made in Truckee.
That said, the Reno brewpub is “not at all modeled on Truckee. We want something unique, that reflects the community, reflects the ingredients of the area,” Fleming said. “We want this to be its own thing.”
On the restaurant side, Fleming said a firm had been hired to design the kitchen and interiors, but no chef had yet come aboard.
Essential to the culture
FiftyFifty will occupy about 6,500 square feet at the north end of the food hall at Reno Public Market. From the start, plans called for a beer establishment to be an anchor of the hall and the market.
“As we imagined the redevelopment of Shoppers Square, one of the things we knew we needed to be relevant in Midtown was to have beer,” said Doug Wiele, president and founding partner of Foothill Partners Inc., the project developer.
“We thought beer was critical to the culture we were trying to build. FiftyFifty was the first lease we signed, in 2019. The whole Reno Public Market project started with FiftyFifty.”
More of what’s new at the food hall
Food stall sign-ups: The food hall, with soaring 35-foot ceilings, has space for 18 food stalls. Licensing agreement discussions are underway. As this story goes live, serious negotiations are being conducted with eight vendors.
Market officials declined to identify the vendors but said they would specialize in, respectively: barbecue, burgers, chicken sandwiches, coffee, oysters, ramen, tacos and food from automatic spinning woks. For all food stalls, folks will be able to browse menus through an app or via QR code.
Signature restaurant: The southern end of the market’s second floor includes a 3,500-square-foot double-height space reserved for a signature restaurant. The other afternoon, the construction crew worked on its windows framing mountain views in three directions, including vistas to Mount Rose.
An out-of-town restaurateur expressed interest opening in the space, but a deal never emerged, said Rick Casazza, a partner in the market, so the signature search continues. Reno Public Market (and Shoppers Square before it) occupy ontime ranchland the Casazza family purchased a century ago.
One bar, maybe two: FireTen Hospitality of Florida is managing the food hall. Its director of marketing and development, Natalie Zabiegalski, has moved to Reno. FireTen is opening a main bar, roughly in the center of the food hall, and perhaps a speakeasy-style spot elsewhere in the hall.
The food hall at Reno Public Market is scheduled to open in July 2022.
Johnathan L. Wright is the food and drink editor for Reno News & Review. Follow him on Twitter at @ItsJLW or on Facebook personally or at @FoodNevada.