Thousand Oaks Gets Crafty
Thousand Oaks both joined the craft brew party and made history in one fell swoop.
When Ali Zia, owner of Bottle and Pint in Newbury Park and Oxnard, was approached by the property owner of a 22,000 square-foot warehouse that used to sell furniture, with the idea of opening the city’s first craft brewery, he and fellow Thousand Oaks High School graduates John Edney and investor Mike Orosco couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
The city adjusted the zoning to allow beer brewing on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, and the three partners got to work. After a year of planning and another year of construction, Tarantula Hill Brewing Company finally opened its doors (and taps) in July to a very warm community welcome with a variety of beers including Enegren, Beachwood and an assortment from Escondido-based Stone Brewing Company. As of this writing, several of their own beers, (including TO Blonde, Dawn Speak and Razzbury Blonde), have finished brewing and been tapped, with more coming soon.
Newbury Park native and brewmaster Mike Richmond, who trained with Stone Brewing, specializes in IPAs and stouts. The brewing area of Tarantula Hill includes a 20-barrel system for their main brews and a five-barrel system for research and development, with space to expand in the future. Front of house has potential to carry 25 brews and four (preferably local) wines on tap. Guests can also order international wine by the bottle.
Tarantula Hill is focused on the whole community. “We wanted to have a place that was family friendly and has something for everyone,” says Edney.
Tarantula Hill’s taproom includes a massive indoor space with a bar and variety of seating options and a spacious patio with a children’s play area. The owners hope to have live entertainment by larger bands once a month and local acoustic artists are invited twice a week to perform. In the works are monthly beer pairing dinners in which local chefs are invited to cook in the brewery’s kitchen and pair dishes with Tarantula Hill brews. Current menu items include offers such as Neapolitan-style pizza, Tarantula-brand specialty coffee and housemade “super-premium” ice cream.
244 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 323-363-2185; TarantulaHillBrewingCo.com
