YellowBelly Brewery

What YellowBelly Brewery does

YellowBelly Brewery & Public House is a privately held craft brewery, restaurant, and event venue operating from a five-floor historic 18th-century mercantile building at the corner of George Street and Water Street in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland. The building, which survived both the 1846 fire and the Great St. John's Fire of 1892, underwent a five-year-plus restoration before opening around 2012 and received the Southcott Award from the Newfoundland Historic Trust for the work. The core product is six flagship on-site craft beers brewed by Master Brewer Liam McKenna (Wexford Wheat, YellowBelly Pale Ale, Fighting Irish Red Ale, St. John's Stout, YYT East Coast Cream Ale, and Come From Away Islander Pale Ale), supplemented by a CiderBerg offering and seasonal limited releases. The venue pairs this with a full gastropub kitchen (wood-fired pizzas, gourmet burgers, local seafood), the underground UnderBelly speakeasy, and four private function spaces capable of hosting up to 400 guests.

The business generates revenue across four streams: on-site food and beverage sales (including a $5 pint happy hour, 4-6pm daily), retail distribution of bottles and cans through NLC liquor stores, Marie's Mini Mart, O'Reilly's, Bitters, and the YYT St. John's Airport lounge, catering and private events, and online gift cards plus merchandise via TableUp and Atlantic Music Store partnerships. The go-to-market is primarily direct-to-consumer at the historic venue, complemented by regional wholesale to retail partners across Newfoundland and Labrador. Co-owners Craig Flynn and Brenda O'Reilly operate the business, which ranks among the top craft brewpubs in Canada (#4 per Vacay.ca) and serves local residents, tourists, and event hosts as its principal customer segments. The business has no disclosed parent company, institutional funding, or M&A activity, and operates within a single physical location with no documented expansion to additional sites.

Name

YellowBelly Brewery

Legal name

YellowBelly Brewery

Website

https://yellowbellybrewery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

YellowBelly Brewery & Public House is a private craft brewery, gastropub, and event venue in a restored 18th-century heritage building in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland, serving local diners, tourists, and private event hosts with on-site brewed craft beers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

St. John'S, Newfoundland and Labrador

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. On-site Food & Beverage Sales: Revenue from dine-in service at the five-floor pub, restaurant, and speakeasy including craft beers, wood-fired pizzas, gourmet burgers, fresh local seafood, and gastropub fare. Happy Hour promotions offered daily 4-6pm with $5 pints.
2. Retail Beer Sales: Bottles and cans sold at NLC liquor stores and Marie's Mini Mart locations in the greater St. John's area. Also sold at O'Reilly's, Bitters, and St. John's Airport lounge.
3. Catering & Events: Catering services and private event bookings including weddings, corporate events, and special functions across four venue spaces accommodating up to 400 guests.
4. Gift Cards & Online Shop: Gift cards sold online through TableUp platform and merchandise available through Atlantic Music Store partnership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

YellowBelly Brewery operates an on-site craft brewery and five-floor brewpub in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland, producing six flagship craft beers and a cider that are served on premise and distributed through NLC liquor stores and convenience retailers. The venue also provides full-service gastropub dining (wood-fired pizzas, gourmet burgers, local seafood), catering and private event hosting across multiple function spaces, an underground speakeasy bar (The UnderBelly), brewery tours, and online gift card sales.

Product overview

YellowBelly Brewery & Public House is a craft brewery and restaurant offering in St. John's, Newfoundland. The core product is its lineup of six flagship craft beers brewed on-site, complemented by a full dining restaurant serving wood-fired pizzas, gourmet burgers, and fresh local seafood. The company operates multiple venue spaces including the main pub floor, the upstairs Public House for events (capacity 150 for dinner, 220 cocktail), the underground UnderBelly speakeasy, and private function spaces. Additional offerings include catering and event services with wedding/reception packages, brewery tours with tastings, custom beer cans, gift cards, and seasonal limited-brew releases. Products are distributed through the on-site venue, NLC liquor stores, Marie's Mini Mart locations, O'Reilly's, Bitters, and the St. John's Airport lounge.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Craft Beers (Regular Lineup) Six flagship craft beers brewed fresh on-site by Master Brewer Liam McKenna: Wexford Wheat, YellowBelly Pale Ale, Fighting Irish Red Ale, St. John's Stout, YYT East Coast Cream Ale, and Come From Away Islander Pale Ale. Available by pint on premise and in bottles and cans at NLC liquor stores and Marie's Mini Mart locations.
• YellowBelly CiderBerg Apple cider produced by YellowBelly Brewery, available as part of the on-premise beverage lineup alongside the craft beer range.
• Restaurant & Dining Full-service on-site restaurant offering wood-fired pizzas, gourmet burgers, fresh local seafood, and gastropub appetizers and entrées. Open daily for in-house dining with Happy Hour from 4-6pm featuring $5 pints.
• Catering & Events Catering services and private event hosting including wedding packages, dinner packages, and cocktail packages. Four private function spaces are available: YellowBelly Building, Kitchen Floor, Public House (up to 150 seated dinner / 220 cocktail), and UnderBelly. Multi-level top floor and full building available for events up to 400 guests.
• The UnderBelly Speakeasy Underground speakeasy bar located in the deep stone of YellowBelly's basement, situated in one of the oldest rooms in North America. Serves rum, whiskey, port, martinis, cocktails, premium highballs, wine, and champagne, alongside four flagship YellowBelly beers (Wexford Wheat, YellowBelly Pale Ale, Fighting Irish Red, St. John's Stout).
• Brewery Tours Guided tours of the on-site brewery and historic building, including a small tasting. Restricted to ages 19+. Tours are limited in group size and available by reservation via email.
• Custom Beer Cans Customized beer can printing service allowing customers to personalize YellowBelly craft beer cans for events, gifts, or branded occasions.
• Gift Cards Gift cards available for purchase online via the TableUp platform, redeemable at YellowBelly Brewery & Public House for food, beverage, and merchandise.
• Seasonal & Limited Brews Seasonal and special-release craft beers issued throughout the year. Some return annually (e.g., Christmastime Mummer's Brew, with the style varying year to year) while others are one-off limited releases available for a short period.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked #4 Brew Pub in Canada
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Atlantic Music StoreminorOthersOnline shop partner for YellowBelly merchandise and products through Atlantic Music Store's e-commerce platform

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Sleeman Breweries: Large Canadian brewer (Guelph, Ontario) with national distribution and craft-line offerings. Comparable as a Canadian brewer in the same shelf-space competition as YellowBelly's packaged products at NLC and convenience retail.
• Moosehead Breweries: Largest Canadian-owned brewery, headquartered in Saint John, New Brunswick. Comparable as an Atlantic Canada-rooted beer producer and employer, though operating across mainstream mass-market lager rather than craft brewpub hospitality.
• Alexander Keith's Brewery: Iconic Nova Scotia heritage brewery (founded 1820), now part of a larger national beverage portfolio. Comparable as an Atlantic Canadian craft-heritage brewing brand with Nova Scotia taproom and broad Canadian distribution, though operating at substantially larger scale and broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• Mill Street Brewery: Canadian craft brewery with brewpub locations and packaged retail distribution nationally. Closely comparable as a multi-venue craft brewpub operator combining on-site food, craft beer, and event spaces — YellowBelly's model executed at larger scale.
• Amsterdam Brewery: Toronto craft brewery operating a brewpub/restaurant and distributing packaged craft beer across Ontario. Comparable multi-revenue hospitality platform with on-site food, craft beer service, and event capability.
• Garrison Brewing Company: Halifax craft brewery with an on-site taproom and broad retail distribution in the Maritimes. Comparable to YellowBelly in combining on-premise craft beer service with packaged distribution and event programming in Atlantic Canada.
• Steam Whistle Brewing: Toronto craft brewery and pilsner specialist operating a heritage brewpub plus widely distributed packaged product. Comparable on-premise craft beer service model with strong tourism foot traffic and retail channel.
• Propeller Brewing Company: Halifax-based craft brewery operating a brewery taproom and distributing across Atlantic Canada. Closely comparable Atlantic Canadian craft brewer with on-site hospitality and retail packaged-goods channel mix similar to YellowBelly.
• Quidi Vidi Brewing Company: St. John's, Newfoundland craft brewery producing flagship beers (Iceberg Ale, etc.) with on-site retail and tour offerings. Direct geographic and product-line peer operating in the same regional craft beer market with comparable size and local-tourism orientation.
• PumpHouse Brewery: Moncton, New Brunswick craft brewery with on-site pub and regional packaged distribution. Comparable as an Atlantic Canada craft brewpub operation with overlapping food/beverage/event offering mix.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Yellowbellybrew
• Facebookfacebook.com/yellowbellybrew
• Instagraminstagram.com/yellowbellybrew
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yellowbelly-brewery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about YellowBelly Brewery