The Métier Brewing Company will celebrate the grand opening of its new Central District taproom this weekend bringing beer from one of the few Black-owned breweries in the nation to E Cherry.
“Expanding into one of Seattle’s historically Black neighborhoods is an important step in living our mission to brew damn good beer and build stronger community to inspire bigger dreams for all,” MBC co-founder and CEO Rodney Hines said in the announcement. “We’re excited to open our doors at Cherry Street and look forward to seeing new and familiar faces who share an appreciation for building community while enjoying a well-crafted brew.”
CHS talked with Hines and broke the news on the new taproom in December as the Central District resident. Hines called Métier “purpose-driven” and said he chose to expand with a taproom and Japanese street food in the Central Area with the intent of recognizing the history of the communities there while also being present as a Black business owner near his home.
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“A moment of tension for me is when I walk around my neighborhood and when I think of whether new people who see the street signs honoring Rev. McKinney at Mt. Zion Baptist have taken a moment to know who he was,” Hines told CHS at the time. “I fear that there’s a lot of new energy, a lot of new people… that can be good. It can be better if people can pause and look at history of who was here and give some respect for that.”
Métier debuted in 2018 in a business partnership with Hines and Todd Herriott, owner of E Union’s bike shop/cafe/training facility Metier Seattle. It shares a name with the bike venture and has based its production at a bike-friendly spot along the riding trail in Woodinville but Métier Brewing is all about Hines and the beer.
For its grand opening, the Cherry taproom is ready with pours of MBC favorites Métier Pale Ale, Pilsner Kolsch, Horizon IPA, Coconut Porter, and United IPA. Eventually, Hines said he hopes to feature Central District-focused small batch brews.
MBC will also feature an okazu pan cafe created by Harold Fields, owner and founder of Umami Kushi, which offers Japanese street food. The Black-owned Umami Kushi is known for fried bread stuffed with a savory filling and will offer new flavors developed with MBC beer in mind.
Designed by Belmont Ave-headquartered Graham Baba Architects and built by Marc Greene, founder and contractor of Greene Home Redesign, the new 2,000-square-foot “community gathering space featuring rotating taps of the brewery’s award-winning brews” is located in a new commercial development from Capitol Hill-based developer Liz Dunn. Dunn has focused new attention on E Cherry after decades reshaping and preserving Pike/Pine’s auto row buildings and is also planning a four-story, 38-unit, mixed-use building there to replace the 1920s era spaces currently home to the Twilight Exit and Tana Market.
Dunn and Hines first met while serving together on the board of affordable developer Community Roots Housing. 
2022 will be a massive year for the brewery. By the end of next summer, Métier and the Seattle Mariners will open the former stadium district Pyramid Alehouse as Steelhead’s Alley, a new beer-focused pre-game hangout honoring the Seattle Steelheads Negro League team that once played its games at Sick’s Stadium on Rainier Ave.
It is also a big year for Central District beer as fellow independent Standard Brewing now finds itself amid a growing community of beer makers. In addition to the new project from Métier, CHS reported here on the opening of a new shop from 23rd Ave Brewery at 23rd and Jackson from brewer Mario Savage and his three brothers as the Central District family begins building its dream of brewing beer and creating a new Black-owned business in their home neighborhood.
Saturday’s grand opening follows a community open house and will include the unveiling new featured artwork in the new taproom, “a stately, 5-foot metal photograph rendering of four Black youth,” designed and fabricated by LeLeita McKill. The celebration will include giveaways, eats from Umami Kushi, and music by Deejay Hershe (3:00 – 6:00 PM) and lyricist and saxophonist Kayla Carrington (6:00 – 9:00 PM).
Hours at the new joint will run 3 to 8 PM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 3 to 9 PM on Thursdays, 11 AM to 9 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, and Sundays, 1 to 7 PM.
You’ll find the new MBC at Cherry Street at 2616 E Cherry. Learn more at metierbrewing.com.
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Fantastic addition to the neighborhood!
Never liked the Metier on Union, as they use the sidewalk for customer parking.
Looking forward to it! It’s walking distance from Madrona.