WestFax Brewing Celebrates Seven Years as Casa Bonita’s Reopening Looms

The team at WestFax Brewing is preparing for what could be a perfect storm in 2023. Starting Friday, March 10, the brewery kicks off its seventh anniversary with a big weekend of fun, titled Level 7 Unlocked.

If it sounds like there might be games involved, you’re right. Westfax is partnering with Level 7 Games and The O’C Entertainment to host a retro arcade all weekend long. Games like Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mortal Kombat and the Ninja Turtles will be available to play on consoles, with some stand-alone arcade machines set up inside as well. The O’C will also have its party bus open in the parking lot, with over two dozen games available. All games will be set to free play for customers all weekend long.

An even bigger upcoming event for WestFax, however, is the impending reopening of Casa Bonita in May. The pink palace was purchased by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone in 2021, and there’s been a lot of buzz surrounding its relaunch – a Facebook event for an unofficial plan to line up for opening day has racked up over 9,000 RSVPs. And Casa Bonita happens to be right next door to WestFax, which is located at 6733 West Colfax Avenue.

The brewery will have its flagship Urban Lumberjack IPA on draft at Casa Bonita, one of only two IPAs that the restaurant will initially carry. “They’ve been fantastic neighbors,” says Jackie Martuscello, director of sales and marketing. “We meet with the team once a month and go over everything.” Jackie adds that the brewery is seeing an uptick in applications, as prospective employees are likely noticing that this area is going to see a drastic change soon.

If that weren’t enough, WestFax is also planning to open second location later this year – as soon as August, if everything goes smoothly. Located in Colorado Springs and purchased last year from Greeley’s WeldWerks Brewing, the taproom will be roughly 2,300 square feet, including a rooftop patio with scenic views of Pikes Peak. It’s those views that founder Anthony Martuscello hopes might gain the brewery some additional attention. “I saw an article [about the] best patio views in the country, and I was like, maybe we could be on that list,” he says.

WestFax will initially brew all of its beers for the Colorado Springs location up at its Lakewood brewhouse, but there is the potential to add a brewhouse down the line. While WestFax is known for having a wide variety of brews, from fruited beers of all intensities to lagers and stouts, Anthony really wants to make a splash with IPAs at the new location. The market in Colorado Springs contains plenty of breweries, but it’s not nearly as densely occupied by breweries as the Denver market is, so he sees some opportunity there.

The lack of growth in the area of its first location has been a major reason that it has taken so long for WestFax to expand. “I think we expected the area to get better a little faster,” admits Anthony. He’s quick to point out that COVID was especially hard on the brewery, and given that it’s next door to a tourist magnet that has been shut down for almost three years now, it’s not difficult to understand why growth might be a bit slower than expected.

Still, WestFax has seen an increase in taproom visits and has created a culture of consistent events and regulars. “We have a capacity of a hundred, and I think for the first couple of years, that was plenty,” says Anthony. “When we filled it, I was happy; I said great. But now we fill it a lot more often, multiple days a week,” he notes.

During football season, the brewery typically fills up every Sunday. Anthony is from New York and is a big Buffalo Bills fan. Games are shown on the television, and customers expect a steady stream of Buffalo wings to be available throughout the day, procured from local food trucks. One of those trucks, ShaWING, has been a Bills watch-party partner from the very beginning; it will be on site on March 10, celebrating its own seventh anniversary at WestFax.

Local distributor Culture Beverage has also helped WestFax expand, from about seventy self-distributed accounts to a footprint of over 170 across the state. Distribution is about half of WestFax’s business, and while Anthony is happy about the growth there, he wants to continue to focus on the direct taproom sales, where the team has full control of the beer.

This weekend’s seventh-anniversary party is also the launch of this year’s WestFax Loyalty Club. The annual membership allows perks that are appealing to brewery regulars, like getting beers in custom, personalized 20-ounce glasses for the price of a 16-ounce draft, $1 off premium 10-ounce pours, drinking for free all day on your birthday and other discounts.

Brewer Evan Beggs has been busy brewing up special batches for the anniversary party. The March 10 slate includes Party Time American Light Lager and Beta Wave, which is an imperial stout aged in rye barrels from local distillery Laws Whiskey House. There is also a Belgian quadrupel called Concussion Protocol that spent time in FourSquare rum barrels. “It’s different,” says Anthony. “I think it really pairs well with the quad.”

Additionally, March 11 special beer releases include double-dry-hopped hazy IPA Asphalt Cowboy, Checkpoint Triple Hazy IPA, Banana Split Smoothie Sour and Hasta La Vista Vienna Lager, along with draft-only tappings of Turnip the Beet Saison and Carrot Cake Pastry Blonde Ale. The food truck that day will be 5280 Burger Truck.

The March 12 festivities will really lean into recovery day, with BrutMosa, a Brut IPA with a touch of orange juice, and Micheladas American Light Lager. Visitors can also expect a full Bloody Mary bar, and the brunch-focused food truck the Basted Egg will be on hand.

Above all, the team is excited, and a bit anxious, about all the upcoming events – which can’t get here soon enough, in their minds. “Trying to budget and figure out what could be a range of outcomes? Yeah…I don’t like this feeling,” Anthony notes.

“Such a planner like me? I do not like this at all,” adds Jackie. They plan to take a brief break following the anniversary celebration before preparing for the opening of Casa Bonita.