Bend’s Second-Oldest Brewery Is Joining the Taproom Spinoff Boom Just in Time for Summer Travel

Meanwhile, Stickmen’s Cedar Mill new location has been delayed, but the business will open a Happy Valley taproom this fall.

Bend Brewing Waypoint Bend Brewing's new Waypoint taproom. Photo courtesy of Bend Brewing Company.

A surprising number of breweries and beer bars went ahead and announced plans for additional locations earlier this year despite the ongoing pandemic, and Oregon’s taproom spinoff boom shows no signs of slowing.

This time, Bend’s second-oldest brewery is expanding beyond its flagship pub just in time for the summer travel season.

Bend Brewing Company recently opened Waypoint inside a new food hall called The Grove in Bend’s Northwest Crossing neighborhood. The bar features eight taps that will pour customers favorites like Tropic Pines IPA and Ching Ching fruited Berliner weisse, as well as one beer sold only at that site: The Grove Pale, which combines the classic Cascade hop as well as the newer Strata variety. Non-beer drinkers have the option of ordering from a curated wine list or one of a dozen signature cocktails.

Longtime patrons of the original downtown Bend pub will notice Waypoint has its own distinct look—think less mountain lodge and more modern, industrial chic with a minimalist aesthetic and nods to local landmarks in the design. And since even pre-COVID, patios were always the place you wanted to snag a seat in Bend since the city boasts the highest average of sunny days in Oregon, the taproom naturally offers outdoor tables and multiple fire pits.

Bend Brewing Waypoint Bend Brewing's new taproom, Waypoint, is now open in The Grove food hall. Photo courtesy of Bend Brewing Company.

The larger marketplace is still under development, but you can currently order pastas, salads and meatballs from Sunny’s Carrello Italian food cart. Once completed, the 13,800-square-foot space will feature at least eight other vendors selling everything from seafood to ice cream to burgers.

Waypoint joins multiple Portland-metro area businesses in a taproom growth spurt. Old Town Beaverton is welcoming the most new bars, including a Breakside Beer Garden, Loyal Legion’s second beer hall, and Binary Brewing’s production facility.

Not far from there in Cedar Mill, Stickmen Brewing is slated to open a pub at the corner of Northwest Barnes Road and 118th Avenue. Originally scheduled to start operations this fall, the developer has delayed construction of the 5,000-square-foot Kirkland Place Plaza, so the earliest that site will begin service is spring 2022.

But Stickmen will gain a third location this year after all. In late May, the business announced that it had acquired a slot in the Happy Valley Crossroads East shopping center. A taproom-coffee house should open there this fall.

Related: The Portland Beer Scene Is Continuing to Expand in 2021.

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