With a wine bar checked off Maricopa’s small business wish list, one Senita man thinks a local taproom should be next.

Jason Martin told InMaricopa today that after years of dreaming about it, he plans to bring Orlie’s Taproom next year to the recently proposed Legacy on Porter retail center at the northeast corner of Porter and Applegate Roads.

InMaricopa reported yesterday that a soft drink shop was slated for the new plaza. Now, add a place for hard drinks, too.

Not a typical bar

The idea emerged after frequenting East Valley taprooms with friends — like Valley Taproom, the Casual Pint and Wren Südhalle — and conversations would consistently cycle back to opening their own closer to home.

“Sports bars are great, but I liked the taproom concept because they’re designed to be more like a neighborhood establishment,” Martin said. “They’re smaller than a typical bar and the environment kind of has that Cheers feeling. That’s what really drew me to them.”

Like most taprooms, the focus will be on local craft beer on tap, as well as canned beer and locally made wine. Martin said while he would like to add a food menu, other taproom owners have told him, “Once you start focusing on food, you lose focus of the beer.”

Instead, he may focus on serving appetizers or opting to host a food truck most nights, he said.

As for the name?

“Orlie is a family name. It was my grandfather’s name, my middle name, then my wife and I named our son Orlie,” he said.

After his son passed away in 2021, Martin decided to name the taproom after him. Even the website landing page reads, “This is for you son.”

So far, the concept has received positive feedback. A Facebook page created for the taproom already has 127 followers and multiple comments from excited future patrons.

When might Orlie’s Taproom open?

Martin said that combined with the city’s continued growth, now feels like a good opportunity to start a business. He just hopes to see more small businesses pop up in the coming years.

“Small business is important to communities, so that’s one of the reasons I want to do this,” he said. “We’re doing a great job of bringing in commercial stuff, but the city of Maricopa needs to do a better job of getting small businesses. I didn’t realize until I started doing this how hard it is to open a small business in Maricopa.”

Legacy on Porter has yet to begin construction — let alone the permitting process. Plans, project narratives and other documents from developers need to be approved by the Maricopa Planning and Zoning Commission, as well as the Maricopa City Council before crews can put a shovel in the ground.

But the protracted timeline works for Martin.

“I keep telling everyone that it’s my hope to have it open at the latest the end of next year, if not sooner. That’s my goal right now based on what I know,” he said.