A Sioux Falls brewer is buying a former restaurant at a prominent downtown Sioux Falls corner, staking its claim on the busiest commercial corridor in the city's core.

Fernson Brewing Company has purchased Bros Brasserie Americano at 332 S. Phillips Ave. and is planning to renovate the location, turning it into a taproom featuring the company's beers, shareable small plates of food and games.

"It's going to be a lighthearted, hopefully not intimidating taproom concept with fun, shareable food," said Joel Thompson, Fernson's CEO, putting to rest what in recent weeks has turned into the worst kept business secret in Sioux Falls.

The new location is tentatively scheduled to open in early March. Fernson will close its Fernson on 8th taproom as part of the move.

Bros fans take heart: Fernson will keep on the former Bros owner, chef Ryan Tracy, to handle the kitchen and its menu items.

"We're super excited to have him," Thompson said. "He's an amazing chef."

Bros has been for sale since September 2017 and closed Jan. 1. Tracy, who had faced some health struggles in the past, had said he was looking for a change of pace.

Thompson said the conversation about the Fernson purchase had been going on for some time, but he said it was "bittersweet" to watch one of his favorite Sioux Falls restaurants close in advance of Fernson's move. By keeping Tracy on, Fernson will get his experience serving up craft beer and highly complimentary food.

"He's got a unique skill to pair beer and food," he said. "It's something we're really excited about."

'We want it to feel like Fernson'

Thompson said the company is redesigning the former Bros space but isn't planning major construction.

Still, the place won't look like Bros. The eatery's bright red walls are going away, although Thompson said the goal is to keep the space bright and also showcase the building's brick walls.

"It's going to be a different place. We want it to feel like Fernson," he said.

Fernson is also planning new ways to highlight and use their new taprooms patios, both out back on the building's east side and along the pedestrian walkway to the building's south.

"It's kind of a cornerstone for downtown Sioux Falls, and we're trying to do things intentionally enough to respect how great of a place it is," he said.

The new location will be family friendly, Thompson said, and will likely have games, possibly shuffleboard, bag toss and the like.

"That's actually where the original concept idea started, was, 'Let's create a place in downtown Sioux Falls that doesn't exist already. Somewhere that you can go, not just to eat or drink,'" he said. "Because right now, that's what the options are."

'We're not trying to compete'

Thompson said so many downtown businesses sell Fernson beer, the beermakers were hesitant to provide them any competition. "We try to be thoughtful enough to have those conversations before they can turn into problems," he said. "It's not what we're in it for. We're doing this to be more a part of Sioux Falls."

But they shopped around the idea and got a largely positive response. One move they made was to choose not to offer a full menu, so as to carve out their own niche downtown.

"The idea is you go there before a dinner at JL Beers or Parker's or MacKenzie River (Pizza) or maybe after for a drink and shared appetizer type foods with your friends," he said. "I'm sure if you wanted to you could cobble together a meal, but we're not trying to compete."

There's still much to be determined for the new taproom. Thompson said Fernson is considering being open from mid-afternoon to 10 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on weekends, and doesn't want to be a bar or restaurant but own its own identity as a brewery with a downtown taproom.

"I think the goal is to be a mid-afternoon to end of the night kind of place, at least as late as we think a taproom should be open," he said. "There's that old adage that my mom would say, that nothing good happens after midnight."

Fernson will mark its fourth anniversary in business in February. The business, founded by Thompson's older brother Blake Thompson and Derek Fernholz, opened the Fernson on 8th taproom in 2016, on the eastern edge of downtown.

The move to the former Bros space on busy Phillips Avenue places Fernson, the city's largest craft beer brewer, into a highly visible location on busy Phillips Avenue.

"We're hoping to be a real part of downtown Sioux Falls for hopefully a long time to come," Thompson said.