Laurelwood Brewing Co. is a family owned business that was founded in 2001 by the husband and wife team of Mike De Kalb and Cathy Woo-De Kalb. After years of working in the hospitality industry and raising a young family, Mike & Cathy made the leap to ownership. The original Laurelwood Public House & Brewery was opened in the Hollywood district of Portland, Oregon in March 2001 in a defunct pub location with a 7 barrel brewery. They opened Laurelwood Public House & Brewery with a goal to create an eating and drinking establishment (a place) where all could feel welcome. They wanted it to feel like you were at a party at their house. Moms, dads, kids, single friends and neighbors all mingling together to create a positive energy. “A Place Where Friends and Families Meet.”

Mike and Laurelwood’s original head brewer, Christian Ettinger designed a list of craft beers meant to please every palate. Soon Laurelwood was winning local and national awards for our beers and had become a bustling center for the neighborhood.

The year 2003 brought the addition of Chad Kennedy to our brewing staff. He and Christian crafted the beers that won Laurelwood the World Beer Cup World Champion Small Brewpub and World Champion Small Brewpub Brewmaster awards.

In 2004, Mike & Cathy opened Laurelwood NW Public House in a beautiful restored house amidst the shops on NW 23rd Avenue in Portland. This location does not have a brewery, but does have an amazing patio and even 2nd story outside dining! NW 23rd is a great family friendly and casual choice for the neighborhoods surrounding. For the next two years, our business grew by leaps & bounds.

In 2006, Chad became our Head Brewer and the beers have continued to garner awards at local and national competitions. Also in 2006, Laurelwood Brewing Co began a franchise relationship with SSP America to operate two PDX locations, on concourses A and E. These locations are staffed by SSP America, but trained and monitored by Laurelwood Brewing Co.

By 2007, the original location was too small for the high volume of business and the brewery was having a hard time keeping up with the demands of the two restaurants and our many off-premises accounts around Portland. It was decided to relocate the Public House & Brewery 12 blocks east. Mike & Cathy purchased the former Sylvia’s Dinner Theatre and renovated it, recycling and refurbishing as much of this Portland classic as possible. The former stage area is now home to a 15 barrel brewing system. This location has ample upstairs private dining options as well as a roof top deck that hosts summer time BBQ’s. After moving to the new 51st & Sandy Blvd location, the original location was remodeled into the Laurelwood Pizza Co, with a menu that focuses on handcrafted pizza and Italian fare. The original 7 barrel brewery is still very much in use.

In Summer 2009, Laurelwood plans to open its newest location in Battle Ground Village, in Mike’s home town of Battle Ground, Washington. The new store will be in the heart of a residential and commercial community. We will also begin brewing in Washington in 2009.