2 brewpubs to find new downtown Loveland homes

LOVELAND — Two brewpubs — one moving into downtown Loveland and another moving to a larger space there — received grants this week from the Loveland Downtown Development Authority to help with construction in a pair of century-old buildings.

Sky Bear Brewery and Pub, which opened in summer 2022 at 272 E. Fifth St. in a revitalized project called Cleveland Station, will move into a space at 209 E. Fourth St. Meanwhile, Echo Brewing and Pizzeria, which has been open since 2014 in a former fire station at 600 Briggs St. in Erie, has signed a lease for a former train depot at 409 N. Railroad Ave.

The breweries’ investments buck a trend of consolidation and closures in the craft-brewing industry. According to the Boulder-based craft-beer trade group Brewers Association, 2025 was the second consecutive year in which brewery closings outpaced brewery openings.

The DDA unanimously approved giving Sky Bear $42,717 and Echo $31,646 in “restaurant conversion grants” at its Monday meeting. The money comes from the DDA’s Tax Increment Financing dollars,” said Sean Hawkins, director of the Loveland Downtown District.

“Sky Bear is turning an office use into a restaurant use, and there’s no kitchen in that building at all,” he said. “For Echo, there is a kitchen in the depot, but it’s in pretty poor shape. They also need to add a gas trap for their pizza oven.”

Sky Bear, owned by Amanda Montabone and her father, Mark Kissel, plans to add a back patio, two front patios and extra kitchen space in its new home, which its owners say probably dated back to 1915 and most recently housed offices of C3 Real Estate Solutions. It also will add a second-floor event space that can accommodate up to 100 people.

Longmont-based LEC Builders will serve as general contractor for the extensive renovation project. 

The move will double Sky Bear’s space, Kissel said, “from close to 3,000 square feet today to about 6,000 in the new place. We’re leasing where we are, and since this building had much bigger space, we decided to buy it. Besides, Fourth Street is basically the main street downtown.”

Kissel said he is still waiting for a building permit from the city, however. Sky Bear’s owners want to build a New Orleans-style second-floor balcony that would extend eight feet over the sidewalk, he said, “but the holdup is an encroachment easement. We submitted the application for the permit in December, but we don’t have it yet.”

Echo’s new location will be in a structure that was built in 1902 by the Colorado and Southern Railway and operated as a freight rail hub until 1980. Its most recent occupant was Sports Station American Grill, which closed in fall 2024. The Romanesque Revival brick building has arched entrances and bracketed eaves, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Erie location, which remains open, was the second for Echo. Its owners had opened but then sold a location at 5969 Iris Parkway in Frederick.

Echo’s new Loveland brewpub will have similar indoor and outdoor space to the Erie location, said owner Katy Dukes.

The Echo owner echoed Kissel’s praise for downtown Loveland.

“It was a unique opportunity,” Dukes said, adding that “We really like the location and all the events they hold on Fourth Street.”

The moves are the latest in Loveland’s tumultuous craft-brewing scene.

Big Beaver Brewing Co. closed last November after 15 years in business at 2307 W. Eisenhower Blvd.

After more than 10 years at 623 Denver Ave., Grimm Brothers Brewery moved its taproom in 2023 to the Forge Campus at 815 14th St. SW, where it is collaborating with 13-year-old Crow Hop Brewing, which closed its own downtown Loveland taproom at 214 E. Fourth St. that same year.

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