In February, Lady Justice Brewing announced it would be moving from its four-year-old home in Aurora and heading west to Englewood. Well, Lady Justice’s last day in Aurora was on Feb. 29. Now, the Lady Justice team is preparing for an official opening on Wednesday, March 20.

To start, the brewery hops right into the madness.

“We’ll be airing the March Madness games,” (women’s games prioritized over men’s games) co-founder Betsy Lay said. “We’ll have a bracket-filling party and Trivia with Josie to kick off on March 20. Our grand opening bash is on April 6 and 7. We’re planning for live music and food trucks.”

Taking Over Former Sunroom Brewing Location

Lady Justice moves into 3242 S. Acoma St., a building previously occupied by Sunroom Brewing. In a social media post on Feb. 14, Matt and Melanie Miller of Sunroom Brewing announced they needed to close the brewery to focus on family needs.

To move on, the Millers wanted to ensure the business carried on to the right people. “Matt and Melanie stressed the importance of the legacy of the space they built,” Lay said. “They wanted to leave it in the hands of folks they trusted and had similar community and business values.”

“I had started exploring options for new locations a few months ago, knowing that we were hitting our capacities across the board on Colfax,” Lay said. “Through a mutual contact, Matt at Sunroom reached out to me when he heard I was looking.”

After connecting, the Millers, Lay, and Lay’s wife and Lady Justice co-owner Alison Wisneski, met over beers to discuss.

“We all felt by the end of that convo that this was something we all felt comfortable moving forward with,” Lay said.

Saying Goodbye to Aurora Location

On Feb. 29, after four years and opening in the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lady Justice closed its 9735 E Colfax Ave. location in Aurora.

“I love our little taproom there and the community we’ve built over the last four years,” Lay said. “The choice to close Colfax was a tough one and it honestly took me a long time to get to that decision. Ultimately, after lots of conversations and insight from our leadership team, I decided that our best path forward to be sustainable and continue our growth was to focus solely on one location.”

What’s New?

Since closing on Feb. 29 in Aurora, the Lady Justice team is preparing for its March 20 opening in Englewood. So far, the move has gone well with no notable issues according to Lay. Among some of the changes happening, Lay said: “We’ll be painting and bringing our Colfax muralist, Chelsea Lewinski, in to put some fresh pieces on the walls.”

A major benefit of the new space is a huge increase in the amount of folks allowed in the brewery. At the Colfax location, the capacity was 45 people. Now, it will be 90 people indoors plus an additional 140 people when the patio is open.

While its brewhouse capacity will stay the same with a seven-beer barrel system, production is estimated to increase from 260 barrels per year to 600 barrels per year.

Lay said: “Our focus on the increased capacity will be to utilize the 20-tap tower at S. Acoma St. (Colfax had 10) to launch new recipes and focus on the crowd favorites we’ve had over the years, like our Back in St. Olaf rose blonde ale and Simply the Beast DIPA.”

Furthermore, Lay plans to expand its barrel-aged program with an emphasis on Extra Special Bitter (ESB) beers.

What Else For 2024?

As Lady Justice continues to settle into its new digs, Lay’s goals for the rest of the year echo the brewery’s culture since its beginnings: “Just to drink great beer, build a better world, and cultivate a craft beer community that cares about people.”

The mural featured at the top of the article was painted by Chelsea Lewinski. Photo credit: Brian Phipps.

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