HeadFlyer Brewing Closing Northeast Minneapolis Taproom to Focus on Distribution

HeadFlyer Brewing said co-owners Amy and Neil Miller and Austin Lee will close the brewery’s Northeast Minneapolis taproom in the Miller textile building at 861 E. Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis to the public on April 5, 2026, and instead focus on brewing and wider distribution. “After nearly a decade together, the time has come for us to pivot our operating model,” the owners wrote in a public letter, adding that they will “continue developing new delicious beers and keeping our OG favorites in rotation, distributing to liquor stores, bars and restaurants.”

Founded in April 2017 by Neil Miller, Amy Miller, Nate Larson, and Austin Lee, HeadFlyer operates from a space it describes on social media as a “Historic taproom in Northeast Minneapolis. Dog friendly!” The taproom shares the Miller textile building with Five Watt Coffee and lists hours on Instagram as Monday through Thursday 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Friday 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Saturday noon to 11:00 p.m., and Sunday noon to 8:00 p.m. The brewery’s website lists its address and phone number as 861 E. Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55414; (612) 588-7338, and identifies HeadFlyer as an Independent Craft Brewer.

HeadFlyer’s recent milestones include a Jan. 13, 2025 feature on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives that highlighted the OG ZaZa food truck, a Jan. 1, 2025 launch of Everyday THC seltzers in 10mg/12oz cans with an OG Kush mango-guava flavor, and an Aug. 28, 2025 post noting a Churro Cream Ale at the Minnesota State Fair. The brewery marked its seventh anniversary with a party on May 4, 2024. The taproom also served as a community venue for weddings and local events; one customer posted a wedding photo and wrote, “This saddens me so much,” while another regular, Bob LeBrec, said, “Yours was the first brewery I went to that looked like it was actually built from the ground up, [when] most at the time looked like abandoned warehouses.”

HeadFlyer said it will keep taproom programming through the April 5 closure, including a planned St. Patrick’s Day party with 4OnTheFloor. The owners’ letter thanked customers directly: “To our loyal customers and community... you are what made this journey so unforgettable,” and “Your support, especially through some very tough years in Minneapolis, has meant more to us than we can ever fully express. This decision is so difficult because of you and the community that grew within these walls.” The company did not provide detailed operational reasons beyond the need to pivot to a distribution-centered model.

Industry analysis frames the move as part of a broader rationalization. GetBrewLedger notes that a taproom is a retail operation that requires real estate, staffing, utilities, permits, events programming, and steady foot traffic, and that those costs can overwhelm a brewery when rent is high or traffic drops. GetBrewLedger also called the news “bittersweet,” adding, “The beer stays. The place where you drank it does not,” and said such pivots are not necessarily failures.

Local chatter on message boards points to Dangerous Man Brewing as a likely next tenant for the 861 E. Hennepin space, though Dangerous Man representatives did not comment and no lease has been confirmed; reported background on Dangerous Man notes its original taproom closed in 2023, its Maple Lake production facility shut in March 2025, and the brand was bought by a new owner last fall. HeadFlyer’s taproom will close to the public on April 5, 2026, its beer will continue to appear in retail and on draft, and analysts suggest this kind of pivot may be the move that lets the garage-born brand keep brewing for years to come.