Moniker Brewery's long-awaited second location in Cumberland is inching toward opening day, with co-founder and owner Bryan Benedict hoping to welcome customers during the second week of November. Construction at the former Ravenous Brewing Company building at 10 Industrial Road is essentially complete, though no official opening date has been locked in because final approvals are still pending.
Moniker purchased the roughly 6,200-square-foot space in March, according to The Valley Breeze, and has been making beer there ever since, even as the buildout dragged on. Benedict initially hoped to reopen the brewery back in June, but the project ran into delays tied to approvals and finishing the renovation. The new timeline, he told the paper, puts the opening in November, pending the last sign-offs.
What's Changed Inside the Old Ravenous Space
The transformation inside the building is substantial. The Moniker team removed a dividing wall and some storage space, installed a large front entry where a loading dock used to sit, and added a new draft system, bar, lighting, tables and booths, per the same account from the Breeze. Bathrooms now have four stalls instead of two, and the large back room is being set aside for overflow seating and private events. An outdoor beer garden is also planned for warmer months.
Ravenous Brewing Company's owners have been helping Moniker prepare for the relaunch, a detail the Breeze's report attributes to the ongoing transition between the two operations. Ravenous got its start in Woonsocket in 2013 before relocating to the Cumberland space in 2019, according to rimonthly.com. The brewery announced on April 30 that it had closed, as reported by the Providence Journal. The sale to Moniker includes the Ravenous branding and recipes, rimonthly.com reported.
Bigger Tanks, Bigger Ambitions
Moniker North will run on a 3.5-barrel brewing system, a step down from the 10-barrel setup at Moniker's flagship Providence brewery, but the Cumberland site has more fermentors, which Moniker says will enable more variety across both locations, according to valleybreeze.com. The Cumberland brewery is intended to serve as a research and development space, giving the team flexibility to experiment with less popular and more eclectic styles. Moniker North is expected to enable production of beers that time or tank-space limits previously kept off the menu.
Moniker opened its original Providence location at 432 West Fountain Street in 2021, specializing in authentic European-style lagers and pilsners. That first brewery opened in January after nearly two years of planning, rimonthly.com has reported. Bryan Benedict, Moniker's co-founder and owner, said the company plans to expand its drink selection at the Cumberland site and wants to offer wine there as well. Deli-type food is also planned for the new location.
Moniker North will initially sell only Moniker-branded products when it opens, per the Breeze's reporting — a detail that differs from an earlier account describing plans for both locations to pour core Moniker and Ravenous beers, including a Mexican lager, pilsners and IPAs. Longer-term, improvements to the outdoor space are targeted for the 2027 summer season, with bocce courts among the ideas rimonthly.com says are in the works.
A Brewery Scene Still Standing Despite Pressure
The opening comes as Rhode Island's craft beer scene absorbs a wave of closures. The Providence Journal reported that Proclamation Ale, Crafted Hope and Ravenous announced their closings, even as the state still has more than 30 breweries operating. The outlet also noted that the Brewers Association reported a nationwide decline in the craft beer industry in 2024.
Other Rhode Island breweries have expanded or relocated into new spaces in recent seasons. Discipline Brewing Co. moved into a Pawtucket mill with a history as a brewery space, Rhode Island Monthly reported, while Buttonwoods Brewery opened a new Providence location inside a former textile mill. Newport Craft also underwent an expansion described as boosting its annual production capacity from 10,000 to more than 50,000 barrels alongside a new taproom and event space, according to the same publication.
For now, Cumberland residents are watching for the final word on permits as Benedict's November target approaches. The Valley Breeze article was written by Sandy Hall, the paper's senior staff writer and content strategist.
