Dafuque Beer Company has opened its relocated taproom in Gahanna. The brewery, which closed its Short North taproom in September after less than a year, reopened earlier in October at 1102 Gahanna Parkway under a new name: The Flight House by Dafuque. It shares the Gahanna Parkway address with Buckeye Brewcraft, a homebrewing supply shop. The collaboration will serve as both a taproom and a facility for brew-related classes, Columbus Underground reported.
Founder Andrew Whitaker said the brewery struggled to gain traction in the Short North.
"Everything kind of stepped away from beer over there mostly. We didn't sell beer as much as we wanted to," Whitaker said, according to Columbus Underground.
DFQ Beer Co. had opened its first standalone taproom at 1205 N. High St. in February, according to NBC4. The taproom closed just months later in September. Whitaker told Columbus Underground the brewery had operated out of the Gahanna space as long as the Short North location. The Gahanna spot was not open to the public until the October relaunch.
The Flight House will be more beer-focused than the Short North spot was. Customers can walk through the facility to see the brewing process up close. Whitaker described it as a small tasting room focused on making great beer, according to Columbus Underground.
Whitaker and fellow homebrewer Theoren Watson founded Dafuque Beer Company in 2020. The two started with one-gallon homebrew kits during the pandemic and worked their way up to original recipes, according to Ohio Brew Week, a nonprofit that organizes an annual craft beer festival. Before the Short North, DFQ operated out of Mecca Beverage House, a collective of Black-owned businesses at 745 Taylor Ave. in Columbus, from June 2025 until fall 2025.
Whitaker is working with a different company to take over the lease for the former Short North space, Columbus Underground reported. A Short North Alliance spokesperson said the organization did not have information about future plans for the North High Street building, according to NBC4.
Buckeye Brewcraft, which shares The Flight House space, is a homebrew supply store founded in 2013 by Jim Downing. David Young and Katie Hard acquired the business in 2023, according to Columbus Underground.
The brewery serves IPAs, Belgian-style ales, blonde ales and stouts. Hours listed by the two outlets differ: NBC4 listed Wednesday through Friday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. Columbus Underground listed Wednesday and Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday, 5 to 11 p.m.; and Saturday, noon to 11 p.m., with no Sunday hours. Visitors may want to confirm hours with the brewery before heading over.
