Death Valley Brewing Open in Tecopa, California

A local Tecopa, California, brewery officially reopened its doors on Oct. 1 for the season, entering its 11th year of business serving handcrafted drinks to locals and tourists.

“It’s a little family-owned place. I make my own beer. Sometimes I have some guest taps as well,” Daniel Leseberg told the Pahrump Valley Times.

Leseberg, who goes by Dan, alongside his mother, Cheryl Zellhoefer, owns and operates Death Valley Brewing. The business was founded in 2014, and Leseberg joined the operation in 2016. Death Valley Brewing closes its doors during the summer months because of the Tecopa heat.

“I work the finances and try to keep up on the licenses,” Zellhoefer explained. “He does all the brewing and the serving.”

Leseberg said his interest in beer creation started with a home-brewing kit. He made a few batches of beer at home and enjoyed the process. Originally from San Jose, Leseberg said there was a German beer bar across the street from the Applebee’s where he worked. The owner there took him under his wing and started teaching him about the brewery business.

“So I got kind of a crash course in craft beer. Then I started working at a farm-to-table restaurant in Palo Alto, and they put me in charge of ordering beer and choosing beer for that restaurant,” Leseberg said.

When Leseberg moved to the Pahrump and Tecopa area, he realized there weren’t many places where you could get a craft brew, citing most vendor options as regular liquor stores.

“I figured I’d just experiment with different styles. And I’m not the most consistent person either. Doing the same thing over and over again isn’t as fun for me,” Leseberg detailed. “So leaning into that variety works well for how I think. Coming up with new recipes or new ingredients is just part of the fun for me.”

Many of his brews have been made with unique Tecopa ingredients, like a beer made with dates and, last year, a beer made with pods from a mesquite tree. Leseberg said there are currently 15 taps, 11 of those are his own brews.

“There are so many different beer styles. I like to do a bunch of different styles, so I’m always kind of rotating,” he added.

Death Valley Brewing has made changes to its interior for the new season. There was a dividing wall that separated the main ordering area from a pool table. That wall has been torn down and another seating area has been put in its place.

“It makes it feel bigger, and we added some seats. Bigger parties and also multiple smaller parties end up hanging out and drinking together, kind of like a German beer table where everybody sits communally,” he explained.

If hunger strikes while sipping on a handcrafted brew, wood-fired pizza can be ordered at Death Valley Brewing from the Kit Fox Cafe next door.

“About four years ago, my friends decided to open up that cafe next door. They built a wood-fired pizza oven, they bake their own bread, they have an espresso machine. And it’s really kind of a nice fit. Pizza, bread, sandwiches and beer all go together,” he said.

John and Courtney Fuller, a husband-and-wife duo, own and operate the Kit Fox Cafe. They opened the business in February 2022.

“We are a small mom-and-pop cafe in Tecopa. We are focused on organic, from-scratch items,” Courtney Fuller told the Pahrump Valley Times. “We do wood-fired pizza, organic espresso and homemade bakery items.”

Death Valley Brewing and the Kit Fox Cafe both share the same dream of growing their businesses in the future. Leseberg eventually wants to distribute his brews so they can be served at other establishments and featured in craft beer stores. John Fuller hopes to have many Kit Fox Cafe locations across multiple cities.

Death Valley Brewing is located at 59 Old Spanish Trail Highway in Tecopa, California. It is open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

For information about Death Valley Brewing, visit deathvalleybrewing.com. The business is also on Facebook under Death Valley Brewing and on Instagram @deathvalleybrewing.

The Kit Fox Cafe is also located at 59 Old Spanish Trail Highway in Tecopa, California. It is open from Wednesday through Sunday. Regular hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday and Saturday hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For more information about the Kit Fox Cafe, visit their Instagram @kitfoxcafe.

Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com