The Atomic Duck has flown northwest.
The signature IPA that’s become something of a mascot for Able Baker Brewing Company is available from one of the 26 taps at its new Bomb Shelter, 6371 Centennial Center Blvd.
“It’s in an area that’s pretty underserved for our industry,” says Kevin Lingley, Able Baker’s director of marketing and public relations. “It’s nice to save people from that drive. People that live up in Centennial Hills, that’s a pretty far drive to get down to the Arts District.”
The Bomb Shelter, which took over the former Montana Meat Company building in Centennial Center, retains Able Baker’s atomic age branding — “Able” and “Baker” being the code names of the first two blasts at the Nevada Test Site.
Lingley calls it “a bigger, more grandiose concept” than the downtown location, 1510 S. Main St., that opened in 2019.
For starters, there’s a full kitchen, led by Zebadiah Nuzzo-Todd, a former baker at Mother Wolf. At the original spot, the food is prepared by Arts District Kitchen, which rents the space.
“Most of the stuff, like 95 percent of the stuff, is from scratch. Everything is going to be super fresh,” Lingley says of the new offerings. “It’s a very robust menu, for sure.”
Nuzzo-Todd spent months perfecting the dough that’s used in the housemade bread and in the build-your-own Bomb Pies that start at $16, with toppings including prosciutto ($3), soppressata ($3) and artichoke hearts ($2).
The Pork Belly Dip ($18) is made with slow-roasted pork belly, smoked mozzarella, caramelized onions, Fresno chiles, arugula and citrus vinaigrette on that housemade bread, with a side of au jus.
The bucatini ($18) with tomato sauce is finished with Parmesan. You can substitute basil cream sauce for $2 more. Chicken ($7) and salmon ($10) are available as add-ons.
And among the desserts — or, as the menu lists them, “Sugar Rations” — check out the Creamsicle Panna Cotta ($14).
As for the beers, the Bomb Shelter has four exclusives: New to the Neighborhood imperial stout, Centennial Flyway New England IPA, Viva Aviva fruited wheat beer and the Bunker Barleywine.
“We’re curating a mocktail menu and a cocktail menu and building that out,” Lingley says of the Bomb Shelter. “In the Arts District location, we do have a full bar where we do serve spirits and stuff, but we don’t ever push it. Intentionally, we don’t. We want to be brewery-first and have people think of us as a brewery.”
Among the other key differences between the locations, the Bomb Shelter is around 6,000 square feet, bigger than the downtown taproom and brewery combined. It’s licensed for brewing, but there are no plans for doing that on-site. Yet.
There’s also abundant free parking and three patios, each of which dwarfs the one downtown, Lingley says.
The Bomb Shelter aims to be not just family friendly, he adds, but “family welcoming.”
“We’re just excited to meet new friends and make new fans of Able Baker beer.”
Contact Christopher Lawrence at [email protected] or 702-380-4567.