Brewkery closing its North KC kombucha taproom as ‘Lucky Elixir’ production heats up

Five years after opening its popular North Kansas City hot spot, the Brewkery — home of Lucky Elixir Kombucha — is moving and closing its taproom, co-founder Amy Goldman shared. 

Kombucha on tap at The Brewkery

With its lease about to end and rent increasing substantially, Goldman said, the move makes sense for the growing kombucha business. Although it’s bittersweet to shutter the taproom, she said, a new Brewkery location — also in North Kansas City — will allow Goldman and her husband, co-founder Sean Galloway, to double their production of the fermented tea drink.

“It was never the perfect brewing space for us,” Goldman said of the current space at 1443 Swift St. “We’ve really outgrown it and so we started searching for space where we could really expand our production. We found the perfect spot, but there’s not really a dedicated space for a taproom. It’s going to be just all production.”

“We sell everything just as soon as we make it, pretty much,” she continued, noting customer feedback weighed heavily in the decision. “So in our new space, we’ll be able to double our production right away.”

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The last day for the taproom is set for May 20 — a time when the community can partake in flights of kombucha, rotating flavors on tap, growler fills, cans to go, kombucha cocktails, kombucha floats, and hard kombucha, Goldman said. 

Sean Galloway and Amy Goldman, The Brewkery, Lucky Elixir Kombucha, January 2018

“We are immensely grateful for the time spent here, the memories made, and the relationships formed,” Goldman wrote on Facebook. “This tasting room was our humble beginning, and it has been a place of community, comfort, and joy for so many. We take great pride in having been a part of this.”

Lucky Elixir Kombucha, The Brewkery

The married entrepreneur team began self-distributing Lucky Elixir to grocery stores in April 2016. The Brewkery’s taproom opened in February 2018 after Goldman and Galloway successfully crowdfunded an effort to build out the street-side section of their building — then solely a Lucky Elixir production facility — into a customer-friendly storefront.

Goldman began to tear up when discussing the community bonds they’d formed over kombucha in the years since.

“I remember, the first couple of weeks; it was friends and family that were coming in and then pretty soon it became strangers,” she explained. “And then the strangers became our friends. So we’ll miss that interaction, not only talking about kombucha, but also talking about their lives and our lives.”

Customers will still be able to fill their growlers with Lucky Elixir Kombucha at three tap locations across the metro, Goldman noted.

Starting June 1, the Made In KC Marketplace on the Country Club Plaza will offer six self-serve taps of rotating flavors. Fetterman’s Deli in Platte City has seven taps that are available now. And the Mission Farmers Market (June to August) will have taps available from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday evenings, starting June 1.

Click here to see where to buy Lucky Elixir.

Amy Goldman, The Brewkery, Lucky Elixir; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu

“That was important to us because that’s what most of our customers that come in here do,” she added. “They fill up growlers and they’re kind of accustomed to that. And we love the sustainability of using glass over and over and over again. So we have some dedicated places around town now that will be growler-fill stations and hope to expand that over the next coming months.”

With the new facility and increased production capacity, the Brewkery has several new products on the horizon, plus a brand refresh, Goldman shared.

Lucky Elixir canned kombucha

She and Galloway plan to introduce four new Lucky Elixir flavors this summer and retire two, expand their Lucky Booch hard kombucha line, and add a couple of non-fermented options like canned teas and botanicals.

Their seasonal solstice/equinox 12-packs — of flavors not available in the core collection — will also continue with the summer solstice pack hitting their online store in June.

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“We’re excited about the future,” she said. “And we’re excited that so many more people in Kansas City know about kombucha. Whereas seven years ago when we started, it was really a major learning process for almost every person that walked up. So now we just feel like we’ve really been able to spread a lot of knowledge and information and health benefits to a lot of people and so we’re proud of that and just want to keep doing that.”