Draft River Brewing to open inside Elmira’s LECOM Event Center

Draft River Brewing Company is set to open inside Elmira’s LECOM Event Center in the fall of 2026, giving the city a brewery built around one of its biggest gathering places instead of a standalone storefront. Owned by Marc Stemerman, the project will occupy 155 N Main St. with a full taproom, a food menu and a dedicated event space aimed at both downtown regulars and people coming in for games, concerts and community events.

That location gives Draft River an immediate advantage in a beer market where foot traffic usually has to be built one pint at a time. Stemerman has framed the brewery as more than a taproom, saying he wants it to help revitalize Elmira and give residents a place to “grab a beer, share a meal, and spend time with their neighbors.” The plan is to serve the event crowd on busy nights while also working as a neighborhood stop during the week, a model that could help the brewery avoid the boom-and-bust rhythm that comes with relying only on game nights and special shows.

The LECOM Event Center itself is a 3,784-seat multi-purpose facility, and the brewery will plug into an amenity base that already includes an ice surface, a full-service restaurant and bar, party and group outing facilities, and meeting and community rooms. The center has also announced a partnership with Southern Tier Events LLC to bring in more community programming such as craft fairs and wedding expos, adding another layer of traffic for a business that will be opening inside the building rather than outside it.

The brewery deal comes after a major shift in the arena’s future. In July 2025, Chemung County Industrial Development Agency officials said they had reached an agreement with Mark and Tracey Stemerman, owners of the Elmira Aviators, to take over day-to-day management of the facility and potentially buy it. Marc Stemerman’s résumé also points to an operator who has worked this kind of venue-led hospitality before. He previously co-owned Greek Peak Mountain Resort and Hope Lake Lodge with John Meier, and the pair bought Greek Peak out of bankruptcy in 2013 for $7.5 million before investing more than $10 million in upgrades, including dining and guest amenities.

For Elmira, Draft River is not just another brewery announcement. It is a calculated bet that beer, food and event traffic can reinforce one another inside the same downtown building, turning the LECOM Event Center into a place where the pint glass and the ticket stub feed the same local economy.