Talea Beer Co. plans Upper West Side taproom as New York expansion continues

Talea Beer Co. said June 23 that it will open an Upper West Side taproom at 441 Amsterdam Avenue, giving the New York brewery its sixth location. The space sits on the corner of West 81st Street and was previously home to the Irish pub St. James Gate, a sign that Talea is moving into a neighborhood where a regular bar can still stand out.

The Upper West Side has been a long-term target for the company, co-owner LeAnn Darland said, in part because the area has fewer bar options than many downtown blocks. That makes the site more than a simple lease fill. It puts Talea into a part of Manhattan where the business has to win repeat visits, not just weekend curiosity, and where a taproom has to function as both a beer destination and a neighborhood room.

Talea was founded in 2019 by Tara Hankinson and Darland, who met while working at a beer startup in New York City. They built the brand around a reaction to craft beer marketing that felt aimed at women in ways they disliked, and they set out to make a brewery that felt more inclusive and approachable. That identity has helped define Talea as New York City’s first and only women-owned craft brewery in outside coverage, and it has shaped everything from the beer list to the way its spaces are designed.

The company’s Manhattan rooms have leaned hard into that broader hospitality model. Alongside beer, Talea has offered wine, cocktails, coffee, non-alcoholic drinks, food and Wi-Fi, turning its taprooms into all-day spaces instead of beer-only stops. That matters in a city where brewery growth is increasingly tied to whether a brand can do more than pour pints, especially as rents, labor and competition keep pressure on single-format taprooms.

Talea already operates locations in Williamsburg, Cobble Hill, the West Village, Bryant Park and a Penn District location, which places the Upper West Side project inside a clear expansion pattern rather than a one-off move. The new taproom was expected to open in early fall 2026, with some local reporting pointing to an October target, and its arrival would extend a model built less on chasing the loudest beer crowd than on giving neighborhoods a dependable, modern place to stay awhile.