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Full Circle Brewing Co. is renovating the former Audie's Olympic space in the Tower District, with a projected opening in January. Photo by Edward Smith

published on November 30, 2018 - 12:01 PM
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New life is beginning to breathe out of a famed bar and music venue on Van Ness Avenue in Fresno’s Tower District.

Just as famed Tower District anchor Livingstone’s seems to be gearing for a reopening soon, Full Circle Olympic is looking to do the same in January by an investment team known for bringing new life to bars.

Workers perform renovation work at the future Full Circle Olympic in the Tower District.

 

Where Audie’s Olympic once stood and before that, Club Fred, investors from Full Circle Brewing Co., lead by CEO Arthur Moye, leased the space to bring back live music and their locally-made brews.

There will be 16 taps all featuring Full Circle beverages, as well as a stage for music, much like what made Audie’s Olympic famous. They’ve even kept the original exit door layered with the stickers of bands who performed there as an homage to the past.

They recently bought some equipment to bring back the root beer for which Moye said Full Circle had been known. This was before the group bought the struggling brewery and focused on expanding production of its beer.

“It’s good to have it for people who are designated drivers or just younger people because we’re an all-ages venue,” Moye said. “So we’ll have that and kombucha on tap.”

Kombucha is a fermented tea drink.

Though Full Circle Olympic won’t have food of its own, Moye said the brewery can rely on the wealth of food trucks throughout the city, as well as its neighbors. Ming’s Restaurant is next door, and getting to The Loving Hut takes only a quick walk. Not to mention Me-N-Ed’s is less than a mile away.

Currently, contractors are working on the cold storage to keep the brews frosty. After that, they’ll bring in the fixtures and decorate. They’ve contracted with the muralist who did the art for the Bitwise Studios building.

Over the past two years since Moye and 9 other investors bought Full Circle, production has increased 18-fold, following not only their own private investment, but also that of an equity crowd fund they put out in 2017.

“It shows serious progress very soon after getting the funds. We chose growth and they’re all excited to hear about it,” Moye said.

In their reporting to the Business Journal’s Book of Lists, Full Circle produced 3,100 gallons in 2016 and the next year put out more than 10,000 gallons. Now, Moye said, they can do that same amount in a month.

Their state brewers license allows them six different locations and two of those can have food. Moye sees the possibility for other satellite locations across town and the chance to find Full Circle beers on shelves throughout California. “This is our first step outside our four walls,” Moye said.


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