New brewery with in-house Mexican restaurant coming to Tacoma
The Redd Dog will close its Sixth Avenue taproom for good this weekend as the owners prepare to take over a brewpub with an outdoor area near downtown Tacoma later this year.
The last beers will pour at 2805 6th Ave. on Saturday, Jan. 31.
In addition to house beers, the new Redd Dog Brewery — replacing the former Black Fleet Brewing at 2302 Fawcett Ave. — will serve an in-house menu of Mexican food led by the restaurant group’s longtime executive chef, Silver Moren.
It will expand beyond the confines of the building into the grassy knoll in the adjacent lot. Second Use, the salvage and lumber store, has agreed to let The Redd Dog use it for a beer garden, where pups will be encouraged to join the party.
Co-owner Lane Scelzi confirmed the move, first shared in an Instagram post, in a Tuesday phone call.
His Ministro Management Restaurant Group, which also operates Redd Dog U-pour bars in Puyallup and Bellevue as well as several Melting Pot restaurants in the region, had been on a multi-year quest to “either build a brewery or buy one, if we could find one that was in good shape and a good location,” he said.
Their son, Nolan Scelzi, graduated from the University of Washington Tacoma determined to work in craft breweries. He went on to train at Dru Bru, with locations in Snoqualmie Pass and Cle Elum, and Seattle’s Hellbent Brewing Company. Another son, Harrison Reed, has managed the Bellevue Redd Dog since it opened in 2024. Scelzi will spearhead the brewery operations at the new Tacoma digs, supported by Reed.
Black Fleet has been closed for at least a few months, said Scelzi. The Facebook page appears to have gone dormant last July.
The brewpub’s original owners, Laura and William Byce, purchased the early 20th-century building, where a mysterious old boot was discovered in the ceiling, in 2016, according to public property records. Their daughter, Caitlyn Byce, and partner Kyle Maxwell spearheaded brewery operations in 2018. Through pandemic pressures, the younger Byce and Maxwell moved onto other pursuits as the parents tried to keep Black Fleet going. Hours grew limited — it had been operating just Friday through Sunday for a couple of years before going dark last year.
Reached by email, Laura Byce said the family will fondly recall the “resilience and compassionate attitude” of Tacoma and their customers. They hosted countless events over the years, she said, and watched the neighborhood grow with new apartment buildings, but it was time to semi-retire. Redd Dog’s vision for the space felt fitting, she added, and they’ll keep the shoe. (Part of the second floor is still available to lease.)
The brewing industry has faced headwinds in recent years. The volume of craft beer dropped 5% last year from 2024 levels, and more than 430 breweries closed while about 270 opened, according to stats from the Brewers Association.
Despite those numbers, Scelzi is optimistic about the future of beer and beer-focused “third spaces” in Puget Sound.
“Breweries are closing all over, but we feel like with our restaurant group, and as many tap handles as we have just in our group alone … we can produce beer for our group but also go out and generate revenue just by selling beer,” he said.
The Redd Dog will open its own brewery
After two-plus decades of owning and operating local outposts of the fondue-focused Melting Pot locations, including the one in downtown Tacoma, the Scelzis set out to build their own brand in 2019. Although their company is headquartered in Bellevue, where they now live, Lane was born and raised in Tacoma. They leased the Sixth Ave space in 2019 for the first outpost of The Redd Dog, centered on the self-serve beer concept. It opened in 2021. More than two dozen tap handles line the walls, from which guests pour their own beer in a tap-and-pay-as-you-go setup.
The concept worked. The Scelzis opened a second, larger Redd Dog in South Hill Puyallup with the same U-pour system — and 42 taps — two years later. They expanded again to Bellevue, at the base of one of the Amazon towers, in 2024.
All three locations have succeeded, according to Scelzi, but the two newer ones have something the Tacoma bar doesn’t: a beer garden. The outdoor area has been essential to the bar’s main theme inspired by Redd, the family’s golden English lab, and any pup whose owners like to bring their furry friend out on the town.
“Once we did Puyallup, it felt like, ‘OK, this is more the concept — with the patio and all that — we were kind of going for,” said Scelzi. The beer garden at the new Tacoma location will be outfitted with a “big canopy, tables, fire pits, corn hole and dogs.”
Armed with five years of data, they also knew their beer and food sales split down the center.
“I can’t grow food, but I can definitely make beer,” joked Scelzi.
That his son wanted to pursue a career in the industry cemented the plan. The new brewpub will skip the U-pour setup, though, in favor of traditional service.
Beyond the bigger footprint and a production brewery in great working condition, Scelzi said he is particularly excited for Moren’s plans in the kitchen. The chef’s family has run restaurants in their native Mexico, he said, and Moren has also worked in Mexican restaurants in the Seattle area throughout his 25-plus years with Scelzi.
Three breweries (E9, Sig, Camp Colvos) in this semi-official Brewery District of Tacoma already sell pizza — all worthy pies, I will add — but Scelzi hopes The Redd Dog’s menu will help it stand out.
What will come of the Sixth Ave space is not yet confirmed. The unit next door has been vacant since Locust Cider closed in 2024.
The Redd Dog - Tacoma
- 2805 6th Ave., Tacoma, 253-212-1174, theredddog.com
- Tacoma taproom open Wednesday-Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at noon — last day Jan. 31
- New taproom and brewery coming to 2302 Fawcett Ave., target opening Summer 2026
Reporter’s Note, 2/6/2026: This story has been updated with comment from Black Fleet’s owners.
This story was originally published January 29, 2026 at 5:20 AM.