South Reno pub owner climbing a new mountain

Brian Edwards knows a little bit about beer — good beer, that is.

Edwards, owner of the Brass Tap Craft Beer Bar on Steamboat Parkway in Damonte Ranch, spent more than two years living in Belfast, Ireland, while earning a degree in physical therapy at Ulster University. Edwards said living abroad in his early 20s was when he learned what good beer tastes like.

“I got a sense of good quality European beer, and that really opened my eyes to beer,” Edwards said. “I had never lived in a foreign country before, and coming from Las Vegas to Belfast brought an awareness of other cultures and other beers. It was fascinating.”

After working as a physical therapist for more than 30 years, Edwards, 53, felt it was time for a change.

“After you’ve done 30 years of something, there are no more mountains to climb,” he said. “It was time for something else.”

Brass Tap mirrors the town-hall experience of European pubs, which typically feature row seating at long community tables rather than individual tables. The pub had its grand opening in early October.

The contemporary glass and steel architecture was designed by Blas Laulom, director of design and construction for FSC Franchise Co. of Tampa, which owns the Brass Tap Craft Beer Bar, Beef O’ Brady’s family sports pub (150 locations in 15 states) and Newk’s fast-casual eatery (95 locations in 15 states)

The pub’s expansive exterior windows open up onto Steamboat Parkway.

“The idea is to bring the outdoors in and the indoors out,” Edwards said.

Once he finally made up his mind to move from physical therapy, Edwards started searching for franchise opportunities. He hit multiple dead-ends, however – and since he’s a total newcomer to the restaurant business, he knew he would need a lot of initial guidance in whatever venture he launched.

When he found Brass Tap, he knew right away a match had been made.

“I’m a guy – I like to drink beer and watch sports,” Edwards said. “I wanted to combine the two and make a career out of it. When I reached out to Brass Tap, I knew within a 15-minute phone call that I had found the right people.”

Brass Tap Craft Beer Bar has 50 locations in 14 states. The nearest Brass Tap location is in Rocklin, Calif. In addition to assisting franchisees with a comprehensive four-week training at the corporate level, the company does a two-week on-location training and provides ongoing financial, marketing and operations/growth consulting.

That training and insight has been priceless, Edwards said.

“I’m not worried about customer service, because the medical field is customer service, but running a bar, ordering liquor, food and supplies, hiring the proper staff, they helped with all that.

“It’s a whole new world,” he added. “The amount of knowledge and material you have to learn in a short period of time is a lot. I learn fast, and we are headed the right way – and Brass Tap always lends a helping hand.”

Brass Tap serves upscale bar food and has 60 beers on tap. Although you’ll find about 10 regular corporate beers on tap, the majority are specialty brews – many from local craft breweries.

“The big three American beer companies have done a fantastic job convincing everyone their beer is good beer,” Edwards said. “But it all looks the same, and it tastes the same. Craft beer does not taste the same, and that’s the idea. We have lagers, pilsners, hefeweizens, Trappist beers, seltzers and ciders. The price points may be a little higher, but it’s totally worth it.

“Brass Tap is all about local brewers,” he added. “Eight-five percent of our beers on tap are from brewers within 150 miles from where we are located. The food menu is very corporate standard, but they have an executive chef and a cicerone who put together the menu and our portfolio of beers. They worked hand-in-hand to pair the food with the beer.”

Brandon Hall, who helped open Chickie and Pete’s at the Grand Sierra Resort, is the Brass Tap’s general manager. Edwards said the biggest challenges so far have been navigating financing through the Small Business Administration, as well as obtaining permits for alcohol and gaming. The non-smoking, kid-friendly pub eventually will offer 12 gaming machines under a restricted gaming license.

Edwards plans to open another Brass Tap in Spanish Springs, likely within a year’s time, followed by another location in Stead in 2026 once road construction on U.S. 395 concludes. He’s also eyeing a future location in Carson City.

“Our demographic is customers with a little more disposable income,” he said. “Brass Tap is a neighborhood bar, and our demographic really works well for Spanish Springs and Stead.

“We are already blowing way past our projections. In a few months when we get gaming on board, I’m hoping to go to local banks and show them that it works. It has been absolutely fantastic.”