One Barrel Brewing Plans Downtown De Pere Taproom and Restaurant Expansion

One Barrel Brewing Co. is eyeing a significant move beyond its Madison roots, proposing to purchase and renovate The Abbey Bar property at 303 Reid St. in downtown De Pere into a full brewery operation with a taproom, event space, and a separate small-plate restaurant under one roof.

The Madison-based craft brewery's plan centers on converting the existing Abbey Bar building into something considerably more ambitious than a simple taproom outpost. The proposal calls for an on-site brewery alongside the taproom, which means De Pere could be getting fresh One Barrel pints brewed locally rather than trucked in from Madison. The event space component suggests One Barrel is thinking about the full hospitality picture, not just pint sales, and the small-plate restaurant carved out separately within the building points to a kitchen program designed to stand on its own.

For anyone familiar with One Barrel's Madison presence, this is a notable step. Expanding to a second market with a full production setup is a different commitment than licensing a name or opening a satellite pour spot. The Reid Street location gives them a downtown De Pere address with the bones of an established bar property to work with, which cuts down on the gut-renovation calculus significantly.

The Abbey Bar has been a fixture at 303 Reid St., so the conversion would reshape a known neighborhood anchor into something new. Whether the existing layout can accommodate a functional brewery alongside a restaurant and event space will depend heavily on what the renovation plan actually looks like once it moves through any required approvals.

No timeline for the project or purchase price has been disclosed at this stage. The proposal is on the table, and De Pere's downtown craft beer scene is watching to see where it lands.