Tacoma’s newest brewery is also a family-friendly Mexican restaurant

Redd Dog Brewing Co. has officially opened in Tacoma’s semi-official Brewery District with a starting tap list of eight house beers and a kitchen dishing out tacos à la carte, esquites and elotes, adobo wings and other Mexican-inspired snacks.

Technically it’s a “move” for Redd Dog and owners Lane and Jamie Scelzi, who closed their Tacoma U-Pour taproom earlier this year to expand into the brewing business. (Katsu Burger moved into that space in April.) They found a perfect setup in the former home of Black Fleet Brewing Taproom & Kitchen at 2302 Fawcett Ave.

After launching the Redd Dog brand in 2021 on Sixth Ave, the couple expanded to Puyallup and Bellevue — both of those taprooms have patios, Scelzi told TNT Diner in January, and as the name implies, pups are key to the concept.

Their sons also helped drive the push to open a brewery, said Scelzi. Their son, Nolan, had been honing his brewing chops at area breweries including Dru Bru and Hellbent, while Harrison has managed the Bellevue U-Pour bar since its 2024 debut.

At nearly 10,000 square feet, the building is older than perhaps it seems: Built in 1907, it has definitely been modernized. The family behind Black Fleet added the production brewery and commercial kitchen in 2018. The Scelzis haven’t drastically changed the layout — the bar is where it was, for instance — but the seating arrangement lends a more open feel.

On opening day, June 17, the temperature a perfect 70-something, the roll-up garage door was wide open and guests enjoyed the few sidewalk patio tables with red umbrellas. Tables are largely communal, with a few large picnic-style tables near the front and a couple of long high-tops with stools in the middle. Every few seats have a condiment caddy with a table number, where you can scan a QR code and order food straight from your phone. Order beer as well as cider, wine and a “pretty killer” marg, according to Standfill, from a bartender at the bar. When you’re ready to close your tab, you can ask them to combine your table tab with your bar tab and pay all at once (or you can pay for food and NA drinks, including horchata and hibiscus tea, through the online system).

The ambiance feels similar to the original Redd Dog on Sixth — from rustic wood paneling and an overall chill, come-as-you-are vibe that’s notably family-friendly, only now bartenders pour the beer.

New beer, new menu at Redd Dog in Tacoma

House beers include a few easy drinkers (read: not all IPAs!), including the Fly Guy, a Keller-style Kölsch; Das Boot, a Pilsner; Redd’s Delight, a lightly hopped New Zealand-style lager; and Porch Buddy, a Mexican lager. Other current drafts offered a hazy and West Coast IPA and a hefeweizen.

The Scelzis have operated several Melting Pot restaurants in the region, including the one in downtown Tacoma, for more than 20 years. Their executive chef Silver Moren has put his signature touch in the kitchen, which they’re calling TapTaco.

The adaptable, affordable menu — most dishes are under $15, with most tacos around $3-$4 each — is built for snacking and sharing.

Start with guac and tostadas (or a combo with house salsas), shrimp ceviche and adobo BBQ wings. A Caesar salad swaps parm for cotija, and a chopped salad adds avocado, cilantro and a raspberry vinaigrette. Nosh on elotes, the cob cut in half and skewered to easily pick up, or esquites in a cup. There’s also antojitos like fruit with Tajín, refried beans and the chef’s family rice recipe.

Several dishes (esquites, fruit, rice, guac) are available in small (enough to share between two) and large (for a few).

Mix-and-match tacos, from seared chorizo and carnitas to tinga-style chicken, Baja-style fish battered with a house brew, and caramelized pork belly with lime crema. They’re served standard on a 4-inch tortilla, but you can also go carb-light with a bibb lettuce wrap for a quarter more. Vegetarian options include roasted cauliflower with chipotle and chili pistachios and herbed portobelllos with pico de gallo. (If you order several, a few will arrive on one metal tray.) The burrito is the most expensive dish at $16, stuffed with beans, rice, pepperjack and pico de gallo with your choice of meat for a bit extra.

On the sweet side, finish with churros with chocolate and dulce de leche, key lime pie “in a jar” or a raspberry chimichanga.

For the pup: swag and toys, all-beef franks, bacon, a “pup patty” or even grilled chicken breast with rice and veggies.

The new brewery and taproom will soon break ground on a beer garden in the grassy lot next door, in between their building and Second Use Building Materials. A rendering near the door teases a large tent over fresh cement and a new fence. Marketing director Payton Standfill said they hope to complete that project this summer.

Redd Dog Brewing Co.

• 2302 Fawcett Ave., Tacoma, 253-625-7118, redddogbrewingco.com
• Sunday-Thursday 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
• Details: new brewery, taproom and Mexican restaurant in Tacoma’s brewery district; family-friendly, party-ready