Wolves & People Farmhouse Brewery sets soft opening for downtown Newberg bar

Wolves & People Farmhouse Brewery will soft-open its downtown Newberg bar at 107 N Meridian Street on June 25 with a ticketed bluegrass performance. The opening follows months of construction setbacks and permit hurdles, and the brewery now has a second address in the center of town.

Steve Everley bought Newberg’s historic 1888 building at the corner of First and Meridian streets in 2024. Everley has been restoring the upper floors as period-accurate short-term vacation rentals, while the ground floor was stripped to the studs. Original brick walls were exposed, a pressed-tin ceiling was planned, and historical pieces from the building, including a boat once owned by the original proprietor, were being kept as décor. The main floor had previously housed Newberg Bank and later Right On Computers, Pacific Crest Real Estate Advisors and Shear Expressions Hair Salon.

Christian DeBenedetti laid out the downtown bar and restaurant idea in July 2025, with hopes of opening later that year. The downtown space made sense because most of Wolves & People’s fans and followers live there, and the farm property is not well suited to amplified music and the other events DeBenedetti wanted to host.

When the restaurant concept expected to take the other half of the building fell through, the project needed another way to satisfy Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission requirements, so Briar Ridge BBQ was brought in to handle food. Under Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission rules, food service is not required for a brewery license, but it is often the best way to show drinking is not the predominant activity when minors are allowed. Licensing applications run through the agency’s CAMP online platform. Briar Ridge BBQ owners Kyle and Sylvia Kapphahn had already brought Texas-style barbecue to the area and served from their truck at Chehalem Valley Brewing before joining the Wolves & People opening.

A GoFundMe campaign for the project also helped keep the retrofit moving.

Wolves & People was founded in 2016 at Springbrook Farm and makes wild, wood-aged and blended beers with well water, local grains, fruits and wild yeasts. The family farming history on the land goes back to about 1853.