Manifesting a second location didn't take long for Eugene's Manifest Brewing. The downtown brewery, which opened next to Doc's Pad at 740 Willamette St. in May of last year, is expanding a couple blocks down into the former Starbucks space at 89 W. Broadway in Kesey Square. Starbucks vacated the space earlier this month after five years.

"My first job was at a Starbucks," said Manifest brewer and co-owner Brandon Woodruff, so "it's kind of neat" to be moving into the former Starbucks space. It may even be manifest destiny.

The anticipated opening for the Manifest Public House is mid- to late November, Woodruff said. The brewery will retain its existing space for brewing and will offer a completely new menu of fast-casual brunch and dinner food in the Kesey Square space, as well as packaged beer to go and a full bar with wine and rotating cocktails.

"Breakfast-y" and "wholesome" is how Woodruff described the daytime menu, of which "biscuits and slather" (Manifest's version of biscuits and gravy) will be a mainstay. He also mentioned hot wings, soups, rice, beans and vegetarian and vegan options. The menu will transition into more dinner-type items as the evening progresses.

"Our main focus is still on the beer, but the food is going to be all prepped here and made here," Woodruff said. They'll do all that with no hood system, so items will be cooked on a flat-top grill.

Manifest brewed 56 beers in the last 12 months, which works out to a new beer every week, and Woodruff expects to keep up with that schedule. He also expects to maintain the tap mix, which has roughly six out of nine taps pouring sour, fruited beers. The new public house will have at least 14 taps.

Something new Woodruff is excited to offer is a sort of brewery tour that brings people up and down Willamette Street between the two locations. Manifest will aim for tours on the hour on Saturdays and Sundays.

"'Hey, get a free tasting down here, go buy that can or bottle down at the public house, see you later.' It gets people outside to see what’s actually going on in that part of Willamette Street," Woodruff said.

With Townsend's Teahouse next door staying open until 10 nightly and the newly renovated Broadway Metro movie theater flanking the space on either side, the corner of Broadway and Willamette should be more lively later into the evening as Manifest plans to pour beer until midnight.

Just down the block on Broadway, First National Taphouse owner Thomas Meeken, who shares a landlord, Rick Mikesell of RSM Investments, with the space at 89 W. Broadway, says he's excited for the opening. Meeken also writes a column on beer for The Register-Guard's CAFE 541 section.

"It’s better than an empty storefront. Gary (Miller, Doc's Pad owner and co-owner of Manifest) is a great guy. I think they’re going to do really well there, and we’re going to grow together," Meeken said. He mentioned the possibility of special releases or monthly collaborations on beer to create a kind of downtown beer district.

Starbucks announced it was closing in July, just after a stabbing took place in its outdoor seating area, though the company said the decision was already made. Outdoor seating was eliminated after the incident.

Since Manifest would be down the street from the space's new tenants no matter what, Woodruff is glad they'll be bringing some new life to the area. He said he was worried something like a bead shop might end up in the space.

"Even though we’re a block and a half away, I would have rather Ninkasi opened there than the bead shop. At least I know (customers are) drinking craft beer and might say, 'What else is close to me?'"



Woodruff says almost every week customers come in to try his beer because someone at Ninkasi sent them with a recommendation. He sees the expansion as a way to make Manifest, and downtown Eugene, even more of an attraction for tourists and residents alike.

"What we really want to do is bring more people downtown that just aren’t working here or are just here for a Saturday Market or farmer’s market day. Kind of make it a destination, like a downtown should be."

Follow Anna Glavash on Twitter @AnnaGlavash and on Instagram @541ToTheTable. Email aglavash@registerguard.com.