Meet the Team Behind Mesa's Upcoming Brewery and Pizzeria

The guys behind Chupacabra Taproom and Goat and Ram mobile pizza kitchen aren’t strangers. On weekends, Goat and Ram regularly slings pies outside the popular downtown Mesa craft beer destination.

And starting next year, the two concepts will enjoy an even more symbiotic relationship. Chupacabra owners Eric Cady and Trent Smith are opening Urban Legend Beer Co. around the corner. Goat and Ram will operate in-house.

The combined concept is set to take the place of the former Desert Eagle Brewing Co., which closed at 150 West Main Street in late July. The name Urban Legend is a wink back to the chupacabra, a vampire-like animal from Latin American folklore. Plans are still preliminary and the project’s opening date is about six to nine months out, but the trio has a good idea of how they’ll operate.

“They didn’t want to deal with the food end and I don’t particularly want to deal with the alcohol end,” says Goat and Ram owner Dan Medlen. “It’s a good partnership.”

Cady and Smith are totally renovating the space from the brick walls to the rafters so “it will not be recognizable from what Desert Eagle was,” Cady says. “There’s not one single thing in that building that will look the same.”

The goal, the owners say, is to bring over the vibe from Chupacabra Taproom. The new concept will have an open floor plan and more seating, but Cady and Smith emphasize that they’ll preserve the unpretentious, neighborhood feel that has made Chupacabra a runaway hit since it opened in 2019.

Tables will be near the brewhouse and on a nearly 800-square-foot patio on the front sidewalk. Despite the more expansive space at the new location, Cady and Smith aim to preserve the intimate ambiance they cultivated at Chupacabra, where people mingle over a pint.

“I think that’s the dynamic that’s in downtown Mesa," Smith says. "It really is a community, and you come in and make new friends and meet new people.”

Cady and Smith aren’t worried about over-saturating the area with too much beer, they say, because the new spot will replace a previous brewpub and because many downtown Mesa restaurants and bars have waits on weekends. They’d been looking for a place to open another Chupacabra, but when the Desert Eagle closed, it was the perfect opportunity.

"It already had the infrastructure of a brewery, so that was one of the advantages of the spot,” Smith says.

The duo used to make beer in a garage, but they admit they’re no experts and will look to hire a brewer. They’ll have a seven or 10-barrel brewing system and focus on pouring their own brand, with occasional guest taps. Urban Legend’s beers will lean toward West Coast IPAs, but have “something for everyone,” Cady notes.

As for food options, the pizza will be cooked in gas deck ovens similar to the ones on the Goat and Ram trailer, and the menu will stay concise.

“We have four pizzas on the truck every week,” Medlen says, "those rotate every two weeks or so." Frequent options include pepperoni and sausage, cheese, a meat special, and veggie special.

Medlen plans to offer a couple of appetizers, a salad, and a dessert as well, but he's really excited to start weekend brunches. A longtime pastry chef prior to the pizza gig, he's conjuring up ideas of cinnamon rolls paired with stout, or a quiche and michelada combo.

“Definitely we’ll be doing our own thing, but also trying to pair with what’s coming out of the brewery,” Medlen says. “If you like what we’re doing now, it’ll be that plus more.”

Likewise, Cady and Smith hope to translate their success with Chupacabra into a new concept with their own brand of brews.

“If people are familiar with Chupacabra, they’ll be able to expect the same vibe, same atmosphere,” he says. “But we’ll have great food from Goat and Ram, and we’re hoping to have fantastic beer.”