New owners of Elst plan to convert the brewery into a new brewhouse and restaurant

Elst Brewing Company, set to close Aug. 5, quickly will be replaced by a new brewhouse and restaurant from the same people behind Chivio Taqueria on Gay Street.

The new concept, The Black Dog, would open between Aug. 12 and 15 at 2419 N. Central St., just outside the Oakwood neighborhood. Owners Ben Austin, Bill Angelos and Niko Angelos named the restaurant after the popular Led Zeppelin song and a '70s nightclub that shared the same address.

The first phase will include a reimagined version of the brewery and taproom that already exists, plus a Chivo food trailer. The next step is renovations to the courtyard and the opening of a full restaurant, scheduled for early summer 2025.

The owners operate BBN Hospitality, which includes Chivo Taqueria, Stock & Barrel and The Brass Pearl . The group purchased everything at Elst − the brewery, taproom and building − except for the name, which the original owners retain.

"We're really trying to honor the traditions of Elst, their beer-making styles," Austin told Knox News. "We were big fans of that, while just enhancing the concept on a few different areas."

How the space will transform from Elst to The Black Dog

The plan is to open and function similarly to Elst upon opening the brewery and taproom.

The color scheme will change from yellow to black and red, with more natural tones planned inside, including wood paneling and cabinets. The Black Dog will add wine and liquor, plus new indoor furniture and an outdoor projector.

As for the beers, fans of Elst can rejoice as head brewer Dan Leonard will be running the brewery. A few beers will remain from Elst, including the Vanilla Milkshake Ale , but recipes will be tweaked and new beers will be added.

"Essentially, what we're going to do is start with those baseline recipes, and if it's already perfected, we're not going to mess with it," Austin said. "A few we'll probably just make some minor tweaks to kind of make it our own a little bit more, and then we've got some other ideas for stuff that (Elst hasn't) done before that we kind of want to take it in a slightly different direction, and those will kind of become wholly ours."

The Black Dog plans to close next year for restaurant construction and courtyard renovations before reopening in its final form. The restaurant will serve "elevated bar or gastropub style food" including burgers, pizzas and wings.

Part of the reason for bringing this new concept under BBN Hospitality's umbrella, Austin said, is to allow for crossovers. That could mean a new Mexican lager at Chivo, a new bourbon barrel style beer at Stock & Barrel, and select dishes from every restaurant available at The Black Dog.

The general price range will stay around $6-$7 for beer, while food prices will range from $14 to $18.

The Black Dog will keep what people liked about Elst

Austin wants to maintain what made Elst special to the people who live in North Knoxville. He hopes to keep most of Elst's staff and serve the neighborhood a new elevated experience while respecting what came before it.

"We're in the hospitality business, so it's people-oriented," Austin said. "We didn't want to come in and and be like some hostile takeover or something that. We're still a small business. We want to respect and honor their traditions, their guests, their regulars and patrons that have come in for years."

The Black Dog's first phase will open between Aug. 12 and Aug. 15 with the same hours as Elst: 3-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon-8 p.m. Sunday.

Keenan Thomas reports for the Knox News business growth and development team. You can reach him by email at keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: New owners of Elst plan to convert the brewery into a new brewhouse and restaurant