The owners of Central European-style beer garden Bierocracy in Long Island City are looking to tap into the Brooklyn market, with a space as big as 35,000 square feet, sources told The Real Deal.
Prague-based investor Marek Chatrny and his partners have been scoping out Brooklyn properties for a large second outpost as an early step in a large international expansion. He recently checked out the Loeffler family’s 55 Kent Avenue in North Williamsburg, where retail rents are north of $70 per square foot, according to sources familiar with the search.
In November, the first Bierocracy beer hall opened at 12-23 Jackson Avenue in Queens, occupying 8,500 square feet. That venue’s ground-floor space spans 4,000 square feet.
Rendering of 12-23 Jackson Avenue in Long Island City
But the beer garden in Brooklyn could be significantly larger, with Bierocracy seeking between 10,000 and 35,000 square feet. The owners previously checked out retail spaces on the Lower East Side and elsewhere in Manhattan, but for now is focused on Brooklyn, sources said.
Chatrny, who could not be reached for comment, told the Village Voice in 2014 he wants to open 100 beer garden locations over the next 10 years.
Constellation Real Estate Advisors’ Ryan Reszelbach, who is representing Bierocracy in the search, declined to comment.
German beer garden Studio Square occupies about 30,000 square feet in Astoria, with a maximum capacity of 2,500 people. The Vanbarton Group is in contract to sell that property, largely occupied by WeWork, for $70 million.
Brooklyn’s most popular beer halls include Radegast Hall & Biergarten in Williamsburg, Spritzenhaus in Greenpoint and Brooklyn Bavarian Biergarten in Park Slope.