Cartel Coffee Lab on University Drive and Ash Avenue will be expanding into the world of beer when it opens a microbrewery in the suite adjacent to its current location.
The café received a use permit from the city of Tempe this week to operate the microbrewery.
Cartel Coffee Lab is extending into the suite recently occupied by Tropic Tan, which went out of business. The extension will house the brewing operations as well as an espresso machine.
“Our goal is to keep the new space a bit more lounge-y, a bit less laptop-y, more hanging out,” owner Jason Sliberschlag said.
The expansion is still months away as Sliberschlag needs to acquire the building permits, he said. After the new space opens, he expects to be serving beer about four months later.
This is Sliberschlag’s first venture into beer brewing. He plans to offer an Indian pale ale, an amber ale and a stout. The beer will be distributed to the Cartel Coffee Lab locations in Scottsdale, Phoenix and Tucson.
“I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of brewing beer,” Sliberschlag said.
Tempe’s bar scene already has the handcrafted beers of Four Peaks and the unique selections of Taste of Tops, but Sliberschlag said he hopes to create a place where students can bring their laptops and textbooks.
“What we’re really trying to do in Cartel is to create a more comfortable atmosphere,” Sliberschlag said. “(An atmosphere) that you would expect from a coffee shop, but add the element of being able to have a beer.”
The brewing will start out as a small operation, Sliberschlag said.
“If it really goes off and it’s great then we’ll consider expanding our brewing operations,” he said.
Kris Robison, a manager at Cartel Coffee Lab, said he is excited about where the microbrewery will go and how Sliberschlag will blend the two ventures — coffee and beer — together.
“I’m really excited about the idea of creating a Cartel beer. (Sliberschlag) is a pretty creative dude,” Robison said. “If he is inspired by something … he’ll just go with it.”
Recent music composition graduate Joshua Hill has been coming to Cartel Coffee Lab since it opened and was unaware of the plans for a microbrewery. Hill said there are many microbreweries around producing only average beer.
“If it’s good then I’ll be excited about it,” Hill said.
Reach the reporter ryan.mccullough@asu.edu
