Bar & Brewery moving in the Sacramento Valley: Murdock's crew at work

Retail, Restaurant & Hospitality

Bar and Brewery Moving in Chico and the Sacramento Valley

Kegs and packaged beer move under your ABC license, the brewhouse and draft system with their installers. Our crew moves the taproom, back-bar and office.

(530) 354-8089

Licensed & InsuredUSDOT 3421940 · MC 1416634
Locally OperatedChico + Yuba City
Sacramento ValleyChico · Yuba City · Sacramento

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Planning a Bar & Brewery Move

A brewery or bar move is really three moves that share a calendar. The first is the alcohol: kegs, cases, cans and spirits, all counted and transported by the licensee, and a new address that needs its own ABC approval before any of it goes in. The second is the production side: mash tun and kettle, the fermenters and brite tanks, the glycol chiller, the draft system, which belong to the brewhouse installer, a refrigeration contractor and a draft technician. The third is everything a guest touches, and that is the part our crew moves.

That means the taproom tables and benches, bar stools, empty back-bar cabinets and bottle shelving, merchandise racks and the T-shirt wall, flight paddles, glassware, the host stand, patio furniture, and the brewery office upstairs or out back. In Chico, where taprooms sit in downtown storefronts and in the light-industrial buildings near the airport and the Esplanade, the guest room is often a converted shell with one roll-up door that the brewhouse crew also needs. We plan our truck around theirs.

Who usually signs off: Bar owner or taproom operator, with the ABC licensee and brewhouse installer confirming their separate plans
Timing that works: Last pour at the old room, then the licensee's premises transfer, the draft tech's new lines and the brewhouse set; taproom furniture arrives once the new room can take guests.

What typically moves

Taproom tables, benches and bar stoolsLong communal tables usually split at the bases; stools stacked two high with pads between.
Empty back-bar cabinets and bottle shelvingMoved only after the licensee has cleared every bottle and keg, doors and drawers taped.
Tap handles, flight paddles and glasswareHandles boxed individually since many are custom; glassware in cell cartons, grouped by style.
Merchandise racks, apparel wall and cooler-free retail shelvingApparel stays on hangers in wardrobe boxes so the merch wall is back up for opening weekend.
Patio furniture, umbrellas and yard gamesUmbrellas come out of their bases; heavy bases move on a dolly, never rolled on edge.
Brewery office desks, files and computersBrewing logs and paperwork stay in labeled cartons your brewer packs; the office PC and screen are unplugged, carried and plugged back in at its new desk.

Access and scheduling

Most taprooms share an entrance with production. The roll-up door that our truck wants is the same one the tank delivery and the installer's equipment need, so we ask for their schedule first and take the slot that stays out of their way, often a day before tanks arrive or after they are set.

Downtown Chico storefronts load from the street or an alley, with posted loading hours. Industrial buildings near the Chico airport, in Yuba City or out toward McClellan Park in Sacramento have more room but a yard full of pallets and hose. We walk both sites and agree the truck spot with you. Moving after the final pour on a Sunday night, or on a weekday the taproom is dark, is common and available on request.

Protection and handling

Taproom furniture is often built from reclaimed wood, steel pipe and butcher block, and it is heavier than it looks. Tables are padded on every edge, stool legs wrapped, and the long tables carried with enough hands that no joint takes a twist. Custom tap handles break at the ferrule, so they get their own boxes with the tap number written on each one.

Nothing in our load holds liquid. Before we pack a back-bar cabinet, the licensee's staff has emptied it and confirmed the count. Draft towers, faucets and shanks stay on the bar for the draft technician. When a cabinet sits against a glycol trunk line or a keg cooler wall, we leave it until the tech says it is free.

Who does what

Some of this job belongs to other trades. The written plan names each one.

Kegs, packaged beer, wine and spirits: The ABC licensee counts and moves all alcohol under its license, and handles the premises transfer for the new address.
Brewhouse, fermenters, brite tanks and glycol chiller: The brewhouse installer and a rigging company handle tank removal, transport and setting, with licensed trades on steam, gas, water and electrical connections.
Draft lines, towers, keg coolers and the glycol trunk: Your draft technician disconnects, cleans and rebuilds the draft system at the new bar.

Not part of our work

Any alcohol, full or empty kegs, and bottled or canned product.
Tanks, brewhouse vessels, chillers and anything needing a forklift, crane or rigging.
Draft system work and any utility connection.

Around Chico, Yuba City and Sacramento

Chico's taproom scene runs from downtown storefronts near Broadway and Main to production buildings near the Chico Municipal Airport and along the Esplanade. Yuba City, midtown Sacramento and the Roseville and Rocklin business parks have their own mix of brewpubs and tasting rooms, each with its own loading setup.

The crew that shows up

Murdock’s movers working the loading ramp of an open box truck

The Murdock’s crew lined up behind the truck on an orchard road in Butte County

Murdock’s crew rolling a shrink-wrapped piece on dollies through a building lobby

Bar & Brewery Moving FAQs

Another question? Call (530) 354-8089.

Can the taproom furniture go in before the new brewhouse is running?

Often it can, if the new taproom is finished and closed off from the production floor. Tables and stools can sit in a clean room for a week while tanks are set and lines run. If the guest room is still a work zone for the installer or draft tech, we hold the furniture until they clear it.

Who packs the back-bar bottles and keeps count?

Your staff, under the licensee's plan. Alcohol never goes in our cartons. Once the bottles and kegs are out and counted, we pad, tape and move the empty cabinets and shelving. That keeps the ABC paperwork clean and keeps glass off a moving truck full of furniture.

Our tap handles are one-offs. How do they travel?

Each handle gets its own small box, padded, with the tap number or beer name on the lid. They ride in one tote marked for the bar so they are the first thing the draft tech sees at the new room. The draft tech installs them; we just deliver them intact.

We are moving from downtown Chico to a building near the airport. What changes?

Mostly access. A downtown storefront means street or alley loading at set hours and a tight front door. An industrial building has a roll-up door and room to park, but shares that door with the brewhouse installer. Plan the dates with the installer first and we fill in around them.

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Plan your business move

Tell us both addresses, the building rules you know about, and the dates you cannot move. We will send back a written plan and estimate.

Call (530) 354-8089

Mon–Sat 8:00 AM–6:00 PM · Sun 10:00 AM–4:00 PM