![]() Flix is also exploring some really exciting things in our new markets with our architects to really increase the ‘hangout-ability’ of our brewpub areas, so I think when we open some of the new locations starting with El Paso this coming winter, we’ll see the fruits of that. I’d love to see that get over the finish line this year, but we certainly have some capacity constraints (Flix saw 41% sales growth last year so we are really pushing our breweries to their limits, so I’m not sure it’s feasible to package unless we partner with breweries to batch at their places). GJ: We’ve been toying around with some limited retail package offerings. PD: It’s going to be a busy year for the company, what other things can we expect to see this year and next for Flix? We also look for up-and-coming beer cities that we see as the next wave of amazing beer towns (that’s why we landed in places like Albuquerque, Madison, and Des Moines). If they didn’t want a cinema, they aren’t good partners usually. Our typical build is in the multiple millions of dollars, and our landlords share in that expense, so we look to identify partners that really want a dine-in cinema brewpub. Particularly, there are what Hollywood calls “clear zones” where you look to be at least 3 miles from another cinema. GJ: Because we are a cinema, there are some tricky components into finding the right spot. PD: The brewery is rapidly expanding, what goes in to choosing the right market for expansion? At the same time, movies are what drives the business forward primarily, so there’s a constant push-pull happening internally and externally. We care deeply about our beer and breweries. So, there’s a challenge with guests getting it, as well as team members understanding what’s the role the brewery plays for Flix. ![]() Yes, we are a brewery, but our operation is so different from literally every other brewery out there. ![]() PD: What were some of the early challenges? And so we did, and here we are! Lobby Bar Flix Brewhouse Carmel. They told Allan he was crazy if he did that, and it was stupid to just fake it, you have to do it right. He called up his friend who is the owner of NXNW and said, “I want to set up our theater like a BJ’s and put these tanks on display”. He had purchased a small 3.5BBL brewery from a place in west Texas that closed and had it sitting in a shipping container. Another popular cinema was slated to go into the space, but backed out, and he still wanted to do it so he decided to start his own. At the time, he was operating a craft beer oriented restaurant as well (HomeField Grill) and wanted to convert a space in his center that was an Albertsons grocery store into a dine-in cinema. Allan Reagan, our CEO, owned the shopping center that the first Flix opened in. Greg Johnson: Flix launched in the summer of 2011 in Round Rock, TX. : How did the concept of Flix Brewhouse come about? ![]() Artist rendition for Flix Brewhouse in El Paso. I caught up with Greg Johnson, Director of Sales and Marketing for Flix, to learn more about this ambitious expansion. Today they operate four locations around the country with plans to more than double that over the next year. Flix Brewhouse opened in Round Rock, Texas in 2011 with the unique concept of combining a state-of-the-art movie theater with a microbrewery.
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