Coming Soon: Stomping Ground Co-Founder Steve Jeffares Has Acquired Deeds' Former Taphouse for a New Project
If you were sad to see this sprawling taproom go, an industry vet has stepped in to give the venue a new lease on life.
There's a fair amount of turmoil in the Australian craft beer scene at the moment, with a host of takeovers, shutdowns and reopenings regularly making news. In late March, Deeds Brewing announced it was shutting its Glen Iris taproom after the business entered voluntary administration in mid-2024. However, the good news is that Stomping Ground Co-Founder Steve Jeffares has snapped up the impressive space for a new venture.
It's early days, but Jeffares plans to extend the yet-to-be-named venue with an all-weather beer garden, and aims to champion many of the best indie breweries, beverage producers and food suppliers from Melbourne and across Victoria.
"I have loved promoting indie beer and beer-related experiences for more than 20 years and, while the industry has evolved and been challenged of late, I'm convinced there are still exciting opportunities," explains Jeffares. "I've been a big fan of what Pat, Dave and the Deeds team achieved, so I'm looking forward to building on the site's reputation as a beacon for independent beer in Melbourne's inner southeast."
Jeffares has plenty of pedigree in the area beyond his work with Stomping Ground, where he remains a significant shareholder. He's also the Co-Founder of St Kilda's The Local Taphouse, which he opened 18 years ago and continues to operate. Meanwhile, he's also the Co-Founder of GABS Festival, aka The Great Australasian Beer Spectapular, and the GABS Hottest 100 – an annual people's choice award featuring 400 or so of the country's best craft breweries.
After recently stepping away from being actively involved in Stomping Ground, Jeffares expects to have more news in the near future, as he figures out the details required to bring his newest venture to life. For now, he's adopted Paran Place Project as a working title, with ambitions to relaunch in the second half of 2025.
"The plan is to build a hospo A-team to help run the venue day-to-day. I then hope to create, collaborate and consult on other fun and creative projects, both in the indie beer and hospo industries, but also in other areas I'm interested in, like events."
The Paran Place Project is located at 4 Paran Place, Glen Iris. Head to the website or check back here for updates as they're released.
Deeds Brewing images: Architizer.
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