Laughing Monk Brewery Opens Second San Francisco Location

Laughing Monk Brewery has signed a long-term lease for a restaurant with on-site brewing facilities in San Francisco, according to listing agent Joan Ruyle at Maven Commercial, making the North of the Panhandle neighborhood the site of its fourth Bay Area location.

The spot, at 1785 Fulton Street near Masonic, was the decade-long home of Barrel Head Brewhouse before it closed last summer over economic conditions, according to an announcement on Barrel Head’s website.

Ruyle could not reveal additional lease terms on the second-generation space, which has been owned by 1125 BC2, LLC since 2012, according to public records. But said Laughing Monk is taking the entire 5,600-square-foot property, comprising two floors of restaurant and bar space with a third floor for storage. The deal includes the furniture and the fixtures. A license for a full bar is available but negotiated separately from the lease. She did not know the extent of the remodeling plans or have an opening date, but said the brewing equipment Barrelhead left behind was likely staying put. Ruyle partnered with fellow Maven agent Haley Klein on the deal.

Laughing Monk owner Sam Ghadiri did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the deal.

This will be Laughing Monk’s fourth location after a 2023 merger rebranded the Faultline brewery and gastropubs in Scotts Valley and Sunnyvale as Laughing Monk. Since 2016, Laughing Monk has had a San Francisco brewery and tap room located in the Bayview, and is known for combining Belgian and California brewing traditions, according to the brewery’s website.

In addition to the tap room and gastro pub locations, Laughing Monk beers are available in about 500 supermarkets and liquor stores across the Bay Area. They are also available on Good Eggs, whose site says some of their most popular beers are the Sister in Arms IPA, the Evil Twin Belgian Dubbel, and the Fleur de la Soirée Saison.

The former Barrelhead space is flanked by popular taqueria Papalote on one side and a recently shuttered Starbucks at the corner of Fulton and Masonic on the other. Across the street is a Lucky supermarket and a boba shop, along with several vacant retail condos purchased by a Dallas-based investment group as part of a retail portfolio sale last year.

Ruyle and Klein are working with a tenant on a newly remodeled gym space a few doors down from the brewery and touring local operators through the former Starbucks location, Ruyle said. In between the gym and Papalote, upscale Peruvian restaurant Altamarino opened last fall.

“I think this is kind of an untapped neighborhood,” Ruyle said of the north Panhandle location, citing its proximity to the University of San Francisco and other recent additions like brunch restaurant Early to Rise, which opened in the former Automat space a few blocks away early last year.

“We have this trickling of new, exciting concepts coming in. I think people are seeing that trend and they’re noticing there’s opportunities over here that others may not be seeing, so they’re jumping on the opportunity to get into this neighborhood while there are options available.”