ENID, Okla. — Visitors soon will be able to stay overnight in downtown Enid as a local brewery plans to double its current size in the coming weeks.
Enid Brewing Company & Eatery, at 126 S. Independence, is expanding its dining area into the first floor of the two-story building next door, at 124 S. Independence, which its co-owners Justin Blasier and Brady Sidwell recently purchased.
To be called “Upper Story at Enid Brewing Co. & Eatery,” the fully furnished, three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment above the future dining room will be available on AirBnB for nightly stays in downtown.
Blasier announced the plans in a Facebook Live video Tuesday.
Packages with other local businesses are in the works, he said later Tuesday evening.
“It’s all ready to go,” he said.
Booking and more details will be available in the next couple weeks on EBC’s website and on AirBnB, Blasier said.
The expanded dining room will be rented for private events or used for larger events like dueling piano or concert nights. Blasier said they were taking bids on door options between the two dining areas.
Blasier said they’d considered buying the building the entire time it’d been on the market for the last year. Its owners also had moved out, while the Felt Bird boutique formerly located on the building’s first floor moved locations (and is soon closing its doors).
“We kept going back and forth on it, and finally decided to pull the trigger,” he said.
Having opened two years ago, EBC also is building an indoor kitchen, currently located in an outside food truck — to which Blasier said everything was “happening all at once.”
EBC last month also began a monthly vendor and entertainment market, Weekends on Maine, on half the block of Maine outside its building. The second event is set for Saturday.
Main Street Enid’s executive director said the additions would provide a “perfect place” for visitors staying in Enid.
“It not only provides a unique experience for visitors, but helps put downtown on the map as a destination,” Natalie Beurlot said. “The downtown district is thriving because of businesses like Enid Brewing Co.”
Apex Title and Closing also has an AirBnB above its new location, at 108 E. Broadway, but Beurlot said EBC’s is the city’s first above an entertainment venue.
Across the street from EBC, the Best Western GLō, though completed, is still waiting to open following a change of hands between owners.