Drink This: 5 Rights now has year-round outdoor seating

Father’s Day is your chance to check out some big changes at Marysville’s 5 Rights Brewing.

While many breweries have simply gotten by during the pandemic, 5 Rights Brewing is thriving. Owners R.J. and Kristi Whitlow are expanding their brewery to have a year-round outdoor space, a kitchen and an even bigger brewhouse. For the Whitlows, the growth is part of their overall plan, but also surprising that COVID-19 didn’t derail it.

“I never would have guessed that this is the road we would take to get here,” R.J. Whitlow said. “It took a lot of resilience to get through not only this year but the past few years.”

To celebrate the improvements, 5 Rights plans a Dads and Drafts event from June 18-20. You also can check out 5 Rights’ Sixth Anniversary Party from July 2-6.

The new Second Street Community Pavilion is 24 feet by 48 feet and will have power and heat, allowing it to be open year-round. A fenced-in grassy area will have space for more tables and yard games when the weather allows. The Whitlows also plan to host a 64-team cornhole tournament there in mid-July.

When the state mandated outdoor dining, 5 Rights built an ad-hoc pavilion and got clearance for a right-of-way in the alley with the city. The outdoor space proved to be popular with customers, so they set out to build a permanent one.

“The city and our neighbors really helped us out by allowing us to block the alley during business hours and create the right-of-way we needed for the permit,” R.J. Whitlow said.

Down the road, the Whitlows plan to install some tables with gas fire pits and a pouring station, so customers don’t have to walk into the taproom to get a beer.

In addition to the pavilion, 5 Rights will be expanding into the space formerly known as the Wander Coffee Bar, which doubles the brewery’s available seating. That building also has a kitchen, so 5 Rights is planning to get the permits to offer a menu. With the kitchen, Kristi Whitlow said they plan to host special beer and bites pairing events.

As for the brewhouse, 5 Rights will replace its four-barrel brewing system with seven barrels, which will allow them to brew larger batches of the brewery’s flagship beers. During the pandemic, 5 Rights contracted with Sound to Summit to brew many of its larger batches to keep up with demand. With the new system, that help will no longer be needed.

It’s been a long road for the Whitlows. After starting the brewery with a one-barrel system in their Marysville garage, they made plans to open a brewpub in Lake Stevens. But the move never happened — the Whitlows’ deal with the building’s owner fell apart. So in 2019, they opened their brewhouse in a building on Third Street that formerly housed Carr’s Hardware store.

They’ll install the two-story-tall black metal 5 Rights sign intended for the Lake Stevens location on their Second Street Community Pavilion.

“We can’t be more thankful for how blessed we’ve been all along this journey, especially this past year,” R.J. Whitlow said. “Our community has been, and continues to be, unbelievably supportive. We’re excited for our future building together.”

If you go

5 Rights Brewing Co., 1514 Third St., Marysville, is open 2 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 2 to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. Call 425-334-1026 or go to www.5rightsbrewing.com for more information.

Also: Celebrate Father’s Day with Dads and Drafts from June 18-20 at 5 Rights. Featuring 10 local breweries, food trucks, kettle corn and a dessert station. Tickets are $20 and include six tasters and a 20-ounce souvenir glass.

Mark your calendar: 5 Rights’ Sixth Anniversary Party is scheduled for July 2-6. Special beers on tap include Crush the Groove 2.0 Remix Hazy collaboration with Reubens and Roy Farms, Boom City FAB IPA 2021 and Tax Man Pauper Make RIS variants.