New brewery, restaurants ready to open in Junction City

JUNCTION CITY (KSNT) – New food and brews are coming soon to northeast Kansas as a new brewery plans to open its doors to the public this February.

Highwind Brewing Company in Junction City has been in the works since 2022. KSNT 27 News first spoke with the owner of the establishment, Matt Hoover, two years ago as construction was getting underway for the brewery inside an old historic building.

In a recent interview, Hoover said that in addition to almost a dozen craft beers brewed in-house, customers will also be able to grab some food from one of the two restaurants that share the building. These are Mill Pizza and 726 Bistro which offer pizzas and burgers, respectively.

“It has been a journey with construction, its taken us a little over a year-and-a-half,” Hoover said.

Beer varieties include just about everything one would expect to find in a brewery such as ambers, porters, IPAs, wheats and more. This is in addition to a full bar with in-house punch, wine and cocktails.

“Any customer or patron should be able to find a beer to their liking,” Hoover said.

The renovation of the building the brewery is situated in has been a long road for the investors and employees of Highwind Brewing Company. Hoover said the building was unoccupied for about 25 years before they moved in and began the construction process.

“I feel very excited,” Hoover said. “I think the rest of our family and friends and investors are ready to open.”

A soft opening will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20 with an official grand opening coming on Wednesday, Feb. 28. The brewery will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. for the time being with Hoover saying they will likely expand to 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. after this initial opening phase is complete.

You can learn more about Highwind Brewing Company by visiting it on Facebook or going to its website. You can find the brewery at 726 N. Washington St. in Junction City.

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