Owners of Dillinger Brewing Company have signed a lease for the former Libertine space at 402 E. Ninth St. They hope to be open by early 2021.

 Josh Galemore / Arizona Daily Star

The vacant restaurant space at 402 E. Ninth St., most recently home to cocktail bar The Libertine, will soon have new tenants.

Owners of Dillinger Brewing Company have signed a lease for the spot, located in the old Coronado Hotel building, with plans to turn it into a second taproom for its brewery on North Oracle Road.

At just under 2,000 square feet, the new Dillinger space will seat about 20 inside with an outdoor patio catching all the action along East Ninth Street and North Fourth Avenue.

“We want to put high-top seating that will run along the edge of Fourth,” Dillinger co-owner Eric Sipe said. “Patrons can sit there, have a beer, and experience one of the most prime people-watching spots in the city.”

Sipe said they had been looking for a second location for about a year.

When the East Ninth Street space opened up, they felt comfortable jumping in, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sipe said Dillinger survived the coronavirus shutdown “better than expected,” thanks in part to daily video vignettes, where the brewery staff acted out quirky scenes on YouTube to promote the business.

The team made 77 videos in all.

A flash flood hit the Cañada del Oro Wash near Edwin Road in July 2020, during the burning of the massive Bighorn Fire in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson. The flash flood carried burned debris and runoff from the fire. 

“Maybe 50% of the people who came by during the pandemic, came by because of those videos,” Sipe said. “It was a good distraction from posting sad stuff every day.”

Dillinger will continue to brew its beer at its original location, 3895 N. Oracle Road, but will use the new taproom’s basement for a barrel-aging program.

The Coronado Hotel first opened in July 1928, just six years prior to gangster John Dillinger, the brewery’s namesake, being captured in Tucson.

“He wasn’t too far away,” Sipe said.

In addition to beer, Sipe said the new taproom will also serve Arizona wines and ciders.

Sipe hopes to open Dillinger’s second location in January, just in time for Dillinger Days at Hotel Congress, downtown.

Follow the brewery at facebook.com/dillingerbrewery

Become a #ThisIsTucson member! Your contribution helps our team bring you stories that keep you connected to the community. Become a member today.

Contact reporter Gerald M. Gay at ggay@tucson.com