Southern Pacific Brewing
Chris Lawrence and Anthony LaVia put a brewpub in a Treat Avenue machine shop in 2012 and named it for the railroad. Andy French came over from Speakeasy to brew it. Twenty-one taps went in: seven house beers, fourteen guest lines. The licence let them sell on site and distribute at the same time, and the building was zoned for a distillery too.
Why go
Space is the reason to walk here. Warehouse windows run the height of it and a mezzanine sits over the bar. DJs turn up. So does a salsa night.
The brewery shut on 6 September 2020 after nine years and the building went on the market. Lawrence told SFGATE the heat wave and the smoke had forced a rethink, and that ended with a last conversation with the investors.3 Lawrence sold the brewery that same year.4 It is pouring again, and I have not found anyone who reported the reopening.
Boor Bridges Architecture did the room, the same firm that did Four Barrel Coffee. Under-21s are welcome until the evening.5
Order this / avoid
- Order: whichever house IPA is chalked up. The list rotates, so read the board.
- Order: the fries.
- Avoid: Monday and Tuesday. The doors are shut both days.
What locals & experts say
- Julia Chen, The Infatuation, April 2025, on the scale of it: a group can
multiply to the size of a chamber orchestra and still find a place to sit.
She rates the fries excellent.1 - Chris Lawrence, co-founder, on why a brewpub and not a brewery, in 2012:
We plan to rotate our selections; the great thing about a brewpub is that we have the ability to make a greater variety of beer styles compared to a production brewery.
2
Good to know
- Where: 620 Treat Avenue, near Folsom and 19th, in the Mission.
- Getting in: walk up. No bookings.
Verdict
could-visit — Bring the group you cannot seat anywhere else. Come for the room; the beer is a decent second reason.