Sana Sana Cerveceria is a dream ten years in the making. It will celebrate the heritage and culture of founders Daniel Castro and Johnny De Luna, while endeavoring to support the work of local artists and give back to the community.
Castro and De Luna grew up together. De Luna's background is in marketing and project management. Castro envisioned one day owning a brewery and has won awards for brewing at home.
Several years ago, Castro took De Luna to a beer event in Tempe, which piqued his interest in the field. After attending brewing school, Castro put a business plan together, and the two went to work on Sana Sana Cerveceria. They sought out and hired former Bottle Logic brewer, Greg Suchsland, to oversee beer production. Suchsland had attended the same brewing school as Castro and was excited to dig into the new project.
"We have a great team to build a foundation off of," says De Luna.
After looking at multiple locations, Castro and De Luna say they were thrilled to find an available space in the Roosevelt Row area that was destined to become a brewery. Safe Haven, a different local brewer, had intended to set up shop but after facing a multitude of hurdles, was unable to open.
Castro and De Luna have faced challenges of their own as well, starting from day one. The duo's plans were in the works prior to the pandemic, which set them back. Once they got into the space, there were delays from the City of Phoenix with approval plans.
"Every obstacle you could think of we ran into, funding, permits," Castro says, "but we see a finish line coming, we're excited."
According to Castro, the response from the surrounding community has been great.
"They're all excited. It's kind of a pocket of breweries," Castro explained, noting that there will soon be five different breweries within walking distance "for people to bounce around."
The duo hopes to soft-open the brewery in late January, though construction delays have been plentiful.
"A big part of why we're having these delays is because we really want (customers) to have a good experience here," De Luna says.
De Luna described how a large portion of the front-facing brick wall will be removed and replaced by large double doors, which they are waiting on, along with expanses of glass. From the bar area, customers will be able to view production in the brewery.
"We really wanted to immerse customers into the brewing experience," De Luna says.
Tato Caraveo painted a large mural on the side of the building that will house Sana Sana Cerveceria.
Melissa Pickering
"There's tons of flavors, dishes, drinks, desserts from our culture that resonate so much within our community. For example, during Christmas time there's a tea called Ponche, it's got a ton of herbs, fruity, it's drank warm, it's something served to you by your grandma around the holidays," Castro says. "We wanted to take that and interpret it into a beer."
Another seasonal offering slated for the menu is an Abuelita's hot chocolate stout, something that De Luna describes as "a dark beer that speaks to when we were children, and when your grandma would go into the kitchen and make a hot chocolate and use Abuelita's Hot Chocolate."
Others on the lineup may include a hibiscus IPA and tamarindo lager.
"We want to have our core beers that are super clean and then we also want to have our fun beers that are continuously rotating," De Luna says.
De Luna and Castro also intend to collaborate with other local businesses, such as coffee shops to produce a coffee stout and panaderias.
"The possibilities are endless, we have so many ideas with what we can do with beer that's unique to our culture, to our heritage," Castro says.
With regard to food offerings, the Sana Sana team will be working with other local vendors. And a big part of the new Roosevelt Row concept includes supporting local artists.
"Since the start, local art has been something that we have both been passionate about," De Luna says. "We think that it really speaks to the core of our culture and the uniqueness of the culture. So partnering with local artists, especially one as good as Tato Caraveo who I think is amazing, is awesome in itself."
For now, Sana Sana Cerveceria has the foundation to become a unique destination brewery. Though its owners have yet to brew their first batch of beer in the space, doing so will see a decade-long dream come to fruition in downtown Phoenix.
