Mr. Brews Taphouse plans to expand into downtown Lawrence with a location at 811 New Hampshire St., pictured on May 4, 2023.

A lot of beers, a lot of burgers, a lot of french fries. For one local restaurant owner, that makes a lot of sense for downtown Lawrence.

The owner of Mr. Brews Taphouse has signed a deal to open a second Lawrence location to go with its existing restaurant on south Iowa Street. The new spot will be at 811 New Hampshire St., which is the big stone building that used to house Yokohama Sushi (and more recently Sushi KO) and is next door to longtime Mexican restaurant Cielito Lindo.

Owner Aline Misaiphon said the original Mr. Brews at 3140 Iowa St. had gained a large enough following that its space in the Pine Ridge Plaza Shopping Center was becoming cramped. The new downtown location will be more than twice as large, plus the south Iowa Street restaurant will remain open.

Misaiphon said some of the extra space would be used to house more beer. The existing restaurant has 35 craft beers on tap. The new location will have 48.

“That’s how I describe us, a one-stop shop for beer,” Misaiphon said.

She said Mr. Brews works with every Lawrence brewery that offers distribution of their beers, meaning you could pretty much do your own Lawrence brewery tour simply by taking a spin around your table. The restaurant also stocks beer from other breweries across Kansas and imports craft beer from the popular and distinctive Colorado markets, too.

“We really keep it seasonal, also,” she said.

That means a lot of porters and stouts during the winter and fall months, while lighter, crisper beers find their way into the tap room during the spring and summer.

Look for the extra downtown space to accommodate a larger food menu too. Misaiphon said the restaurant was considering adding pizza, tacos and Philly cheese steak offerings, although plans haven’t been finalized. She said the downtown location plans to stay open much later than the south Iowa Street location, and she wants to offer some foods that may be popular with late-night bar patrons.

But burgers will continue to be a mainstay. She said the restaurant’s Kentucky Bourbon Classic — it features Kentucky bourbon mayo — is one of the restaurant’s most popular burgers. Close behind is the Peanut Buster, which comes with a spicy peanut butter, pepper jack cheese and bacon combination. Also on the menu are creations that feature bruschetta and basil pesto mayo, a California burger, and one that has a heavy dose of cream cheese and sautéed jalapeños.

All burgers can be made with traditional beef patties, or you can substitute a turkey, chicken, black bean or veggie burger. That makes for a whole lot of possible combinations to sort through, and then just when you think you’re done, you get hit by the fries.

The restaurant has four types of fries: fresh cut, shoestring, sweet potato and housemade chips. But once you choose one of those, you have seven seasonings to choose from: sea salt, sea salt and cracked pepper, BBQ, Cajun, ranch, cheddar or Parmesan garlic.

Misaiphon said the sea of choices is a big part of the restaurant’s overall philosophy: Keep the menu focused on two really popular items, beer and burgers, but then give a lot of choices in those categories.

“Our idea is that we’ll have something anyone will like,” Misaiphon said.

She said plans call for the new downtown restaurant to be open in six to eight weeks, although that is dependent on smooth sailing with some interior renovations.