Why Brewhalla Is the Place to Be This Summer

Finals week is fast approaching for students at North Dakota State University. Exams and projects are likely forcing proverbial heads to explode. Students need escapes from the madness and want to zone out and enjoy time with friends to keep their minds at ease.

Most go to the local establishments like Herd and Horns or The Bison Turf, but there is one establishment that is not only a place for students to go during finals, but is a place for all to enjoy during the summer months. That place is just a four-minute drive from the NDSU campus: Brewhalla.

The three-year-old, self-proclaimed “good times factory” has something for everyone, and as Brewhalla/Drekker Event Director Carly Montplasir explains, they are a destination for the locals:

“It’s supporting locals, a huge part of our community. We’re hosting community events, and we have a really dynamic space that allows for togetherness, if that makes sense. You can work from Brewhalla, you can study from Brewhalla, you can come for beers. I think it just really checks all the boxes for somebody, no matter their age, just for a gathering space.”

Drekker embraces the weird and creative, but they want you to have an experience unlike any other, as Montplasir describes Brewhalla’s vision.

“Our motto is create experiences and destroy expectations. I think that’s something we carry over to Brewhalla. We want people to walk in and experience something they’ve never experienced before. Just wow them. The branding is kind of a carryover from Drekker’s branding. We want to be loud. We want to be out there. We want to be somewhere that people want to come to bring their family, their friends, while still being a welcoming space for all ages.”

Brewhalla is obviously known for its cold brews served with suds or foam, but that’s not the only thing they should be known for, says Montplasir.

“A lot of people don’t know this, which is crazy to me: we have a hotel and event center. We want people from out of town to come here, stay in a crazy hotel that’s top of the line for amenities and have a really unique experience. The hotel is a big piece of that,” Monplasir said.

All the rooms at the hotel on the third and fourth floors of Brewhalla are themed after a different Drekker beer, so designs and patterns line the walls, making it one of the more visually appealing hotels to stay in.

Brewhalla is also an event hub, having hosted events such as the Hotdish Festival, Hell’s Fury tattoo fest, Paradox Comics Show and the annual TedXFargo event, which was highlighted by former North Dakota State president Dr. David Cook and University of North Dakota president Andrew Armacost. Here, they expanded on how their universities have contributed to the growth of North Dakota.

Future events at Brewhalla include The Plant Supply Plant Bash as well as their annual adult prom event, which is already sold out and has become one of the more popular events that Brewhalla holds each year.

Brewhalla is a destination, but its mission is also to support the small businesses that make up the retail space. When asked how they balance the two, Montplasir said, “I think they kind of go hand in hand, honestly. Marketing for the space and all the things we offer is benefiting the businesses within. We’re all lifting each other up. That’s what makes us a destination, all of the people involved.”

Montplasir continued, “The cool part about us being able to do events for the community, like private events, helps with that too. Being able to have your birthday party there, your wedding, these really big, special moments, your celebration of life. Everybody’s at a place where all the people care. We want it to be the best event ever for you.”

Brewhalla has only been open for a short time, so people still may not know about it, and as Montplasir said, that’s been the biggest challenge so far. “It’s a very unique thing to have in Fargo, our building. Making sure everybody, even from West Fargo, [know about it]. We still have people that come that are like, I didn’t know [it] existed. I think that’s probably the biggest hurdle we’ve had is making sure everybody in the community knows in our FM area that we have this amazing place for you to work, to celebrate events, to come to our events, have fun and bring your family.”

The event space is the place to be this summer, with the events they host, the beers that are on tap, the food selections available and the good times that can be had. Montplasir is very proud of the work that Brewhalla has done in such a short time. “I think what we’re doing is really unique, and I’m really proud of it. We just want to keep doing things for the community, hosting these fun events and being a space for gathering.”