Stapleton doesn't have its own neighborhood brewery (yet), but the locals will get a way to try out beers being made by small breweries all over the state beginning this summer, when the Stapleton Tap House opens in The Shops at Northfield.

The 1,500-square-foot spot, located near Harkins Theatre in a line of shops that includes Marco's Pizza (no, not the Marco's on Larimer Street) and Qdoba, plans to feature small-batch beers made by small breweries, says Michael Kearns, who is a residential real-estate agent in the neighborhood.

See also: - Hoot and Howl in Northfield Stapleton closes - Photos: Fat Jack's now open -- and arty -- in Stapleton - Marco's Pizza -- no, not Marco's Coal-Fired Pizzeria -- is coming to Stapleton

"If you can easily find the beer somewhere else, we probably won't have it," says Kearns, who plans to have twenty to thirty taps going. "I want to have beers from places like Caution and Strange Brewing, River North and Black Bottle."

"I want people to come in and say, 'I had this great beer last week. Can I have some more of it?' and I want to be able to say, 'Sorry, that beer is gone, but try this one.' And if they want more, they will have to go the brewery itself. Then I'm hoping they'll come back here and try something new. We call it the Colorado Craft Beer Visitor's Center concept."

Kearns had been planning to open a brewery in Stapleton for more than a year, but decided against it recently and switched to the craft-beer bar idea.

"As we looked at the business model, we realized that we really wanted to do something in Stapleton. It is where we live and where we've done business for years," he explains. "But Stapleton doesn't have the industrial-type spaces, those old buildings that you have in other parts of Denver, so the costs here are higher."

Stapleton Tap House, at 8286 Northfield Boulevard, will have fifty to sixty seats.

"Our new home was formerly Spring Communications (AT&T), so we're going to need to do some remodeling to make it a comfortable craft beer tap house. Hopefully they left behind some antennas so we can get better cell reception," Kearns wrote in a blog post at stapletonbrewing.com announcing that he had signed a lease.

"We looked at a bunch of locations, inside Stapleton as well as nearby, and Northfield kept coming back to the top of the list as the best available location," he continued. "Being surrounded by lots of restaurants, a movie theater, a comedy club, and lots of retail were all factors in our decision, as were all the new homes being built in Stapleton's Conservatory Green neighborhood.

"Over the coming days and weeks we will be posting more information about our business plans, construction process, and the ever-important tap list. For now we're finalizing our design and interviewing contractors, preparing to file for building permits, and applying for our liquor license."

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