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When Bob Monroe and his partners at Figurehead Brewing started looking to expand beyond their original Magnolia location, they had a clear vision. They wanted a walkable neighborhood with foot traffic and to serve beer over the bar, creating connections with customers.

What they found at 3513 Stone Way N was a pair of aging structures with potential. The front building dated back to the 1930s and had once housed a furniture store. The back building was connected by a crumbling breezeway that had seen better days.

“When we took the space, we completely tore down the old breezeway and rebuilt the entire connection between the spaces,” Monroe said.

The transformation took vision. The front became Figurehead’s taproom, while the back was converted into a full kitchen for their longtime partner, Midnite Ramen. The collaboration wasn’t just convenient, it was intentional. Midnite Ramen had been operating out of a trailer at Figurehead’s Magnolia location since 2020, and owner Elmer Komagata had always dreamed of expanding his Japanese street food concept with a proper prep kitchen.

Monroe’s brewing philosophy centers on what he calls “beauty in balance,” which is giving malt its due.

“Malt is what makes beer, beer,” he said. “We try to only have two IPAs on tap, which is kind of unheard of in Seattle.”

With 14 taps, Figurehead focuses instead on Belgian styles, saisons, and English ales, offering alternatives to the IPA-heavy landscape.

As for pairing beer with ramen? Monroe doesn’t hesitate. “Beer is the better beverage to pair with food,” he said, noting how the malts in beer complement food much like bread does at a restaurant. “It’s liquid bread.” For spicy ramen, he recommends Elmer’s Midday Rice Lager, brewed specifically as a collaboration with Midnite Ramen.

But perhaps what sets Figurehead apart isn’t the beer at all. The brewery aims to facilitate connections and enhance lives, with beer as the vehicle.

“I had some time during COVID to really think about our purpose,” Monroe said. “Neither our why statement nor our mission mentions beer. That was kind of an aha moment.”

The taproom hosts Bob Ross painting nights, bonsai classes, and reserves space for community groups. The hidden gem? The back patio was completely overgrown when they took over the space. Strung with lights, it’s a summertime secret that Monroe hopes more neighbors and families will discover.

Ten years from now, Monroe envisions Figurehead as a true neighborhood spot, the kind of place where regulars know the bartenders by name and stop by on their way home.

“That’s what this is all about,” he said. “Creating those day-to-day connections.”