Labatt USA Headquarters in Buffalo Available for Sublease

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — After nearly six years on Perry Street, Labatt USA is moving.

Hunt Commercial said the former Labatt House headquarters and first-floor brewery and tasting room are now all on the market.

The brewery opened in November 2018, right across from the KeyBank Center.

The company said it was looking for a smaller headquarters in Buffalo.

The Labatt House is a staple of the Cobblestone neighborhood, but the brand’s parent company said the move was due to changing work trends brought on by the pandemic.

Nationally, the work-from-home model has become part of the new normal.

The need for physical offices is decreasing across the country.

About 10% of jobs have remained fully remote, while 13% of positions in the United States are considered hybrid roles.

According to LinkedIn, remote work generally attracts more candidates.

In one month, applications for remote positions represented 45% of all candidates using the site.

With the Labatt Perry Street site now available for sublease, questions regarding the future of the Draft Room have begun to circulate.

So 7 News’ Pheben Kassahun traveled to the Cobblestone District to find out the fate of this trendy pub.

Don’t worry.

The Draft Room remains on site.

“We’ve been here all this time and we’re happy to stay open and still see our customers,” Sam Mallare said.

To avoid confusion, the Draft Room is separate from Maison Labatt.

Maison Labatt was in the tasting room in front of the restaurant.

It has been closed for over a year and will remain so. This is not the case for the project room.

“We’ll be here all summer. We’re open most of the week. Our schedules are on our website and we host many separate events at KeyBank ourselves. If there’s anything happening at KeyBanks, Harbor Center , we want people to come see us,” Mallare added.

Draft Room Buffalo manager Sam Mallare told me there will also be game nights starting this month.

“BB’s Bingo, she does it in the bars in Buffalo and she fills the place. You play Bingo, if you win you have a limbo contest and stuff like that. It’s a really fun thing. You have a lot of fun here and it’s a really good time,” Mallare said.

Mallare also shared that Draft Room is rolling out with four new summer cocktails. One of them features a Loganberry Smash, made with Buffalo Loganberry.

As with all other spaces in the complex, Hunt Commercial says the first floor brewery and tasting room spaces are available for sublease at 79 Perry Street, complete with state-of-the-art brewing equipment.

The brewery and tasting room occupy 3,500 square feet on the ground floor, equipped with state-of-the-art brewing equipment and a dedicated tasting room. The 2nd floor office headquarters spans over 11,000 square feet and features unique amenities including 11 private offices, multiple bullpens and collaboration spaces, a covered outdoor patio and an indoor bar and kitchen, according to Hunt Commercial.

Office headquarters could be a good choice for a company looking to bring employees back to the office for face-to-face collaboration.