Oro Brewing Co.
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Oro Brewing & Vice Co., a craft beer staple along downtown Mesa’s Main Street, will close this month after more than nine years in business.
The brewery will pour its last pints on Jan. 25, according to an Instagram post from Jan. 7.
“TIME TO SAY SO LONG,” said the post from owner Dave Valencia, adding that “this has not been the easiest decision to make.”
Originally known as Oro Brewing Co. until a recent name change, Oro was a pioneering business in downtown Mesa alongside neighbors like Worth Takeaway. When the brewery set up shop, the area had just a few businesses and the downtown district was a far cry from the dining destination it is today.
The small brewery, situated in a historic building on Main Street just west of Robson, quickly became a destination for beer geeks. Head brewer Jesse Kortepeter made solid standards, unique quaffs and racked up plenty of awards for the nanobrewery.
Among those accolades was a Great American Beer Festival gold medal for the Cafe Oro coffee beer in 2022 and a World Beer Cup silver medal for the tangerine wheat beer, Trigo Suave, the same year. Oro was also named the Brewery of the Year at the Arizona Craft Beer Awards, presented by the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild and PHOENIX magazine, during the inaugural awards in 2022.
Oro grew with Vice, barbecue
Since that standout year, Oro has undergone some significant changes. Last summer brought several moves.
The brewery announced a partnership with Chris Figueroa of Nicky’s Barbecue, creating a new smokehouse and bar called Golden Oak Barbecue & Taproom, which opened in October. The brewery then added “Vice,” to its name and leaned into a dive bar feel by adding a red-felted pool table, covering the walls and ceiling with band and movie posters and selling convenience store finds, including cigarettes, snacks and over-the-counter medications like Pepto Bismol.
“It’s hard to be just a brewery anymore,” Valencia told New Times in July.
Nationally, craft breweries have struggled over the last two years. The Valley hasn’t been immune; last year, major departures included Mesa’s Beer Research Institute and Litchfield Park’s T.C.B.C. Beer.
In December, Oro announced Kortepeter would depart at the end of 2025, celebrating his long, award-winning tenure.
“It’s been one heck of a ride!” the Instagram post said of Oro’s “never compromising” brewer.
Now, Valencia is reflecting on the end of the ride for the brewery.
“Going through our posts from the past 9 years, you realize how much has happened over this time, and we have seen it all,” he wrote. “Along the way we have made lots of incredible friends here and are truly humbled to have been ‘our go-to place’ for so many.”
The brewery won’t be vacant for long. Valencia shared plans to turn over the brewery keys to restaurateur Armando Hernandez. He and his wife Nadia Holguin own the popular local chain Tacos Chiwas, which has a downtown Mesa location. They’re also partners with chef Roberto Centeno on the luxe Mesa surf-and-turf restaurant Espiritu and the retro-casual spot, Main Burgers.
Golden Oak will work through the rest of its Oro brews, then pivot to featuring other local brewers, says Chris Figueroa, who co-owns Golden Oak with Valencia. The downtown Phoenix smokehouse boasts a full bar that currently includes other macro beer options, such as Coors and Modelo.
“Dave built some incredible stuff with Jesse as the brewer, and (won) so many awards. It’s the end of a chapter,” Figueroa says, calling Oro the “foundation” for him to build Golden Oak from a pop-up into a full-service restaurant.
For now, craft beer lovers can stop into Oro for one last pint and say goodbye to one of the East Valley’s most beloved watering holes.
“Please stop in when you can,” Valencia wrote in the Instagram post, promising to be on hand to reminisce with customers. “Once again, thanks for an amazing 9 years, I will never forget this.”
Oro Brewing & Vice Co.
Closes Jan. 25
201 W. Main St.
