Epic adventures often begin with the words, “Your party walks into a tavern…” and this one is no different. While there might not be a suspicious, cloaked figure sitting in a dimly lit corner, the Thieves Guild Cidery has its own fantasy-inspired charm: “We’re calling it ‘chaotic wizard maximalism.’” That’s how co-owners Jordy Kirkman and Max Knudsen describe their soon-to-be taproom, which is taking over the former Alphagraphics building in the Central Ninth neighborhood (530 W. 900 South). Combining a preoccupation with role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and theatrical, high-concept lounges, the new Salt Lake bar will be dubbed Thieves Guild, in honor of the secret organization of rogues, cutpurses and knaves found in classic fantasy realms.
Fit for an adventurer, the bar’s menu focuses on experimental ciders and micro-mead and includes everything from lemon-basil ciders to a Baja Blast Mead (all made in-house). Thieves Guild also invites its honored guests to interact with the tavern itself. After a treacherous session of dungeon-crawling and Mimic-slaying, here the weary traveler can unwind, rest easy and celebrate accomplishing their latest quest (and perchance start a new one) with an evening at Thieves Guild.
Co-owner Max Knudsen harvesting apples at Kirkman’s family orchard.
Co-owner and apple bandit Jordy Kirkman harvesting apples.
Jordy didn’t always dream of being a barkeep, but he’s always had a love for cider—and mischief. Who could have predicted that his two loves would take him on the quest that would lead him to form Thieves Guild? Formerly in the tech industry, Jordy has been home brewing cider for years with apples recovered from abandoned orchards and family-owned trees. “Eventually I couldn’t be satiated with just a few apples here and there,” he says. So he started looking to level up with bigger trees. During one apple-scouting trip, he came upon an ancient patch of trees that had seemingly been left to flourish in the wild. There was just one problem—they were on state-owned property. Jordy couldn’t leave the neglected apples to the buzzards, “We thought we’d do the state a favor of coming in the night and relieving them of some of this burden.” Like thieves in the night, Jordy and his team of apple raiders gathered the goods and fled the scene. They’ve jokingly referred to themselves as the apple bandits ever since, and thus began the idea for the Thieves Guild taproom.
The vision truly took shape when Jordy joined forces with Max, a Salt Lake native who has worked as a chef in both New York and Hawaii. The duo bonded over their shared interest in fantasy tropes and spent hours together during lockdown experimenting like alchemists with home-brewed beer and cider. “At one point we had made several hundred gallons in a year and thought, ‘Hey, we’re pretty good at this aren’t we?’” Jordy recalls. After deciding to pursue their hobby as a full-time endeavor, they received a tip about a building in the Central Ninth neighborhood that was going up for sale and jumped at the opportunity to bring Salt Lake a new and unique experience.
So, how will Thieves Guild distinguish themselves in C9’s already thriving bar community? “Salt Lake has a lot of cool high-concept bars,” answers Max. “But we don’t have a nerdy one.” Leaning into their eclectic tastes, Thieves Guild will be a full-throttle experience bar, complete with fantastical decor and interactive spell books.
Guests will be able to enjoy a range of off-the-cuff ciders brewed in-house. Image courtesy of Thieves Guild.
Although they’re wary of crossing the line into Disney territory, “The whole tavern will feel theatrical, but you won’t be getting your drinks served by a wizard.” Max promises. “It will probably look like a Park City lodge mixed with a gothic German Pub—cozy during the day and a great place to spend lunch hour.” And when the sun sets, expect Thieves Guild to come alive with fantasy adventure. Jordy’s background in tech comes in handy this way, “The lighting system is unique, everything from candles to lanterns to fog machines can be programmed based on what we want,” he says. The bar’s high-tech interiors are specifically designed to invite guest interaction with tokens called thieves coins, which are earned by purchasing certain items or participating in events. Guests can trade these in for loot like stickers or T-shirts or use them to cast “spells.” Yes. Spells. Max explains: “So say you cast ‘chain lighting’ and suddenly the sights and sounds of a storm rumble throughout the whole bar.”
Thieves Coins can be used to cast ‘spells’ inside the cider bar. Image courtesy of Thieves Guild.
For guests, Thieves Guild promises adventure and escape, and for Jordy, it’s a chance to flex his innovation in cider-making. “In the same way you see craft cocktail bars doing crazy stuff with chemistry to create different profiles, I’m pushing boundaries of how to make mead and cider with certain flavors,” he says. With his connection to local orchards, Jordy aims to highlight the terroir aspects of Utah-grown apples while experimenting with unique flavor combinations. Everything from herbaceous ciders to funky micro-meads will be available on a rotating set of taps. The wizards at Thieves Guild are also looking forward to collaborating with the other cider-crazed folks just up the road at Scion, whose head cider maker Rio Connelly has been an instrumental mentor to both Jordy and Max. “We’re excited to be in the same neighborhood, it’s going to be really convenient when we can walk over to Rio and be like, ‘yo, you wanna do some crazy stuff together?” And when asked if two cider-focused bars can share the block, Jordy is quick to respond: “No one bats an eye at two micro-breweries opening down the street from each other. There is so much space in the cider market right now and people have yet to see just how much there is to explore in this world.”
As of this writing, Thieves Guild isn’t making any promises on opening dates, although Jordy and Max are warming up to the idea of a late-spring date. Until then, follow their journey on Instagram @thievesguildcidery where the team frequently drops subtle hints at what adventures are to come. And remember, true adventurers always tip their bards and barkeeps!
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