With a planned opening in mid-2022, Métier Brewing Company and the Seattle Mariners assume stewardship of the old Pyramid Alehouse, through Steelheads Alley.
Earlier this month, questions and rumors were stirred, surrounding the fate of the old Pyramid Brewing Alehouse.
A victim associated with a lack of brand loyalty, the building and property at 1201 1st Avenue south was once the destination for countless Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Sounders, visiting team supporters, and of course malnourished imbibers in search of local craft beer. Today, coincidental as it might be, the space remains inactive, its lights long since turned off, another derelict business during the global viral pandemic.
But after months of closure, something positive has been born at ol’ 1201 1st Avenue South, with the announcement the Seattle Mariners have signed a lease agreement with a targeted opening of July/August 2022. In cooperation with the Seattle Mariners, local brewery Métier Brewing Company, co-owned by Rodney Heines, has signed an agreement to resume brewing operations in 2022, and open a “boutique brew pub” Steelheads Alley, named after Seattle’s Negro League team, the Seattle Steelheads.
Pictured from right to left Métier Brewing Company founder Rodney Heines and Todd Herriott founder of Métier Racing & Coffee. Image sourced from Métier Brewing Company
As the owner of Washington’s first, black-owned, brewery Rodney Heines continues to inspire civic engagement and to search for ways to improve the futures of Black, Indigenous, People of Color, within his taproom, his brewery, and in cooperation with his partner Todd Herriott, owner of Métier Racing and Coffee. Through his brewery and his experience in philanthropy and civic engagement, Heines has inspired other businesses, including breweries like Reuben’s Brews, who co-founded the Mosaic State Brewers Collective. But it wasn’t until Heines and several other businesses met with the Seattle Mariners to discuss their commitment towards social justice that Heines met Fred Rivera.
As the Seattle Mariners’ Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Fred Rivera has advocated for more engagement with the BIPOC community through Mariners Care. In addition, the Seattle Mariners have also stepped up to provide support for vaccine equity, leadership diversity across all sports and entertainment, and through investment in Black, Indigenous, People of Color. As an individual, Rodney Heines found shared values with the Seattle Mariners, which inspired him to reach out to Rivera and the Seattle Mariners.
Through ongoing conversations, Heines and Rivera developed a relationship leveraging Rodney Heines’ experience in civic engagement at Microsoft and Starbucks, long before the conversation shifted towards the acquisition and development of the Pyramid Alehouse. Rivera and Heines recognized another opportunity to promote social engagement with the acquisition of the Pyramid Alehouse.
Image of Rodney Heines (right) captured during Fresh Fest 2019 in Pittsburgh, PA. Image sourced from Métier Brewing Company
For Rodney, this opportunity to promote further awareness of social injustices and lack of equality that continues to exist in the area and the country at large. Also, this announcement has inspired countless historians, including Stephanie Johnson-Toliver, president of the Black Heritage Society. In fact, Rodney Heines has had countless volunteers who are excited to see a space that promotes social engagement, and avoiding the trope of being another brewpub.
Designed to be an opportunity to inspire social engagement, the Seattle Mariners, in cooperation with Rodney Heines and Métier brewing have announced the development of Steelheads Alley, a boutique brewpub with seating space for 250. Besides indoor seating, the outdoor space will serve as an entertainment space during events at both Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park. Also, there are plans to allow for hosting of up to 800 for special events, including weddings, or community gatherings which might include sporting events.
mockups courtesy the Seattle Mariners
For Rivera and Heines, Steelheads Alley is also an opportunity to promote Seattle’s black baseball players, who played in the West Coast Negro Baseball League during the 1940s. Like so many Negro League teams, Steelheads Alley intends to be a platform of hope through stories, guest speakers, and images which weave a tapestry of baseball’s relationship to social activism.
With a planned opening in July or August 22, interior demolition along with permitting is already underway.
Reflecting on what this means to him, Rivera, and the Seattle Mariners, Rodney Heines hopes this new space will not only inspire discussions about baseball, including the Seattle Steelheads, but will also inspire others to become more engaged with the community towards equality for the BIPOC and those underserved.
