As it celebrates its third anniversary in business, Glendale-based Paperback Brewing Co. will soon open doors at a pop-up second location.
The new tasting room is in downtown Glendale, along the Artsakh Avenue promenade. The brewery, which is headquartered in the Tropico neighborhood in Glendale, plans to soft-launch the location this month and is targeting Aug. 1 as a grand opening date. It was brought to that location through a six-month program overseen by the city, which is seeking to add commercial activity to the storefronts it owns on the corridor.
“They actually approached us and told us about it and offered us an opportunity to put something there,” explained Chris Cesnek, a co-founder of the brewery. “We’re really excited about bringing some energy and life into that area.”
The city initiative, called the Artsakh Creative Pop-Up Program, provides the commercial space free of charge for participants for the short-term occupancy.
“We are thrilled to have Paperback Brewing bring its great taste to Artsakh, as we know they are going to be a sought-after addition to the neighborhood,” Soua Vang, Glendale’s deputy director of economic development, said in a statement.
Paperback, by Cesnek and Brandon Monroe in 2020, boasts a wide variety of beers, including its signature Bunny With a Chainsaw hazy double IPA. Its brand is distinguished by its pop culture can art designs in the style of pulp magazines, which are illustrated by Cesnek and another artist.
While the main brewery is located in a World War II-era airplane hangar, the taproom, Cesnek said, is meant to more directly showcase the art with the branding and features framed posters and murals. While the pop-up initially lasts for six months, Cesnek indicated the brewery is open to sticking around should the opportunity arise.
“The space is set up to be basically an art gallery that you can sit around and drink in,” he explained. “For a lot of people who buy our beer who have never seen Paperback, I think that’s what they would think Paperback would look like. I wanted to immerse people in the world of Paperback and the art.”
In its three years on the market, Paperback has twice won gold medals from the California State Fair Craft Beer Competition — for its mosaic IPA, Tucked in by Strangers, in 2021, and for its seasonal red ale, Satan Wears Pajamas, in 2022.