Rimrock Taphouse is set to open this month at 845 SW 17th Street, where Noble Roman’s pizza used to be.

The taphouse is owned and will be operated by Mark and Laura Moore. Mark has owned Subway restaurants for 23 years. He has always had a passion for craft beer, having even tried to get permission to sell it at one of his Subway locations in Bend in 2013. That venture didn’t come to fruition though, but his passion remained.

“I love craft beer,” Mark said. “I love all kinds, from stouts to IPAs.”

The Moores moved to Redmond from Bend about one year ago, and that was when they began planning their own taphouse. They signed the lease at their space in May and have been renovating and finding distributors since.

“It’s been challenging,” Mark said. “We’ve built Subways before and they kind of hold your hand a little bit, but we’ve had to go through every step ourselves. I think it will be rewarding in the end.”

Mark said that Redmond is a growing community and he feels like his taphouse will fill a niche in the market. It will be the only pub west of SW Sixth Street on Highland Avenue. He plans to have 50 taps with 12 to 15 dedicated to local brews. But he said he wants to bring in beer from across the nation.

“We want this to feel like a neighborhood pub,” Mark said. “Redmond is a growing community and I thought it fills a niche since this is away from everything else like it.”

The taphouse will carry limited food like wings, nachos, hot dogs and pizza, but that isn’t what the Moore’s want to focus on. They said customers will be able to bring in their own food if they want.

The space is about 1,200 square feet and will be able to seat about 40 people, with an additional 20 on the outside patio. Mark said he is trying to steer away from a bar environment. He said he wants to keep it as comfortable as possible for fellow craft beer enthusiasts.

As with any new endeavor, Mark said he feels some anxiety about opening his very own place. But he said he is ready for something different than Subway, and what better than to serve up some cold craft brews?

“I wanna be the guy that knows hundreds of people that walk in,” Mark said. “That’s what I enjoy is knowing a lot of people and them getting to know me as well.”

— Reporter, 541-548-2185, cbrown@redmondspokesman.com