Austin Sharp, CEO of Headlands Brewing, lives in North Berkeley and when the company decided to open a beer garden and brewery in Lafayette in 2021, he took inspiration from one of his favorite places to go in his neighborhood, Westbrae Biergarten.
Sharp loved the casual, family-friendly vibe, the beer selection and the juicy tri-tip sandwich from Pedro Robin’s Brazil Cafe. The outdoor establishment was a popular fixture in the neighborhood from 2014 until it closed in December.
“My kids grew up going to Westbrae,” Sharp said. “They were three and five when we started coming here and now they’re teenagers.”
Headlands Brewing Westbrae Beer Garden
1280 Gilman St., Berkeley; www.headlandsbrewing.com
Open Tuesday through Thursday noon to 9 p.m., Fridays noon to 10 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sundays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and closed on Mondays.
When Sharp heard Westbrae would shutter, he immediately started reaching out to inquire about the space and quickly signed a lease to take it over. After giving the property a facelift with an eye on added amenities and comfort while maintaining the atmosphere that made the previous business a success, Headlands Brewing’s Berkeley beer garden will open Friday, June 21 at noon.
“We have a lot of love and respect for the legacy of the Westbrae Biergarten” Sharp said. “We’re excited to build on that foundation and create a space that reflects what we loved about Westbrae while also moving forward with some improvements and new additions.”
The decomposed granite ground has been paved over with stone, two fire pits were added to bring the total to three, more heat lamps were installed and a handful of televisions have been mounted for watching this summer’s European Championship and Olympics in addition to other programming. The kids area at the back of the space is still there, but has a fresh carpet of turf. The water feature next to the curved banquette seating remains a centerpiece of the outdoor dining area. Sharp also rehired more than a half dozen employees from the Westbrae Biergarten, including general manager Joey Daly, who worked there for nearly a decade.
One drawback of Westbrae Biergarten’s popularity was, at the busiest times, the lines for food and drink could get long. A new amenity under Headlands will be QR-code ordering, meaning guests can find a table, order from an app and have the food delivered to them.
For the Berkeley beer garden, Headlands Brewing is working with Farm League Management, which operates Arthur Mac’s and also worked on the design of Westbrae Biergarten when it first opened. The team knew coming up with an enticing food menu would be vital to the appeal, but also acknowledged that they couldn’t recreate the old Brazil Cafe menu.
“We do pizza at Arthur Mac’s but we felt there was already a lot of pizza in this neighborhood and we didn’t want it to be too saturated,” said Adam Stemmler, partner and co-founder at Farm League.
Instead, the food comes from Headlands’ chef at the Lafayette location Jose Gonzales (formerly of The Cooperage, 4505 Meats, Jupiter and other Bay Area restaurants), and the menu will include salads, sandwiches, sausages, hot pretzels served with house IPA mustard, and Gonzales’ signature smash burgers. One special will be the “Michoacano,” a sandwich named after the Mexican state where his wife is from, that has carnitas, avocado, and guajillo garlic mayo on Acme bread. Gonzales is also planning to a do a Taco Thursdays promotion.
The beer garden will feature 24 cold taps, and they will serve more than a dozen different beers in addition to cider and chilled wines. Along with Headlands brews, including small batch selections only available at the taprooms, there will also be five to seven guest taps.
“I prefer a pilsner or lager,” said Sharp, who is originally from Christchurch, New Zealand. “But IPAs, specifically Hazy IPAs, continue to be super popular and we’ll certainly always have options for IPA lovers.”
Sharp and Headlands also build sustainability into the operation, and are working to eliminate plastic at the business. Headlands, which was originally founded in 2013 in Mill Valley, participates in 1% for the Planet, whose members contribute at least one percent of their annual revenue to environmental causes. They often collaborate with different organizations, creating a beer and then donating proceeds from the sales to the environmental group. Past and current partners include East Bay Regional Parks, Parks Conservancy, Bay Area Ridge Trail and Save Mt. Diablo. Today, all Headlands beer is produced at its Pittsburg and Lafayette breweries.
A week out from the June 21 opening Headlands staff and workers were putting up signs, setting up the tap system and installing televisions. Only half of the umbrella bases had arrived on time and a walk-in cooler was not functioning, but the march toward unveiling the revamped space went on. Seeing the activity, several pedestrians stopped in to ask when the opening would be.
“We get maybe 15 emails a week asking us for updates,” Sharp said.
After the opening, the improvements will continue. Sharp wants to add more covered seating so customers can still be comfortable in the rainy winter months. There are also plans to have live music and other entertainment. Headlands is also working on a beer garden in Walnut Creek that is slated to open later this year.
“We are all about being a family- and dog-friendly place for people to come and have a good time, hang out, eat some great food and drink great beer,” Sharp said. “This is about having more places to have fun outside.”
