Sisyphus Brewing gets one more year in Minneapolis after lease scare

Sisyphus Brewing, the Minneapolis brewery and comedy venue, says it will stay in its current location for one more year — through January 2028 — the brewery announced in an Instagram post Tuesday . "Not forever, nobody gets forever, but we've got one more year right here," the post says. The writer said that a few weeks ago they were "pretty sure the boulder was rolling back down the hill for good," but it "just stopped halfway to watch me sweat." The brewery said it will spend the time adding more comedy. The post says the goal is more stage time for comics, "newer ones especially," because "the only way to get good at this is to do it a lot in front of strangers." Starting Tuesday, Nov. 17, the main taproom will become a free open mic at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays. A few spots will be booked ahead, and the rest will be drawn at random. Meanwhile, weekends won't change, with headliners Friday and Saturday. Comics will still get 100% of the door, the post says. After January 2028, the post says, the brewery will "push the boulder somewhere new" and will say where as soon as it knows. The post ends: "One must imagine Sisyphus happy. This week it's not that hard." View this post on Instagram In October, brewery owner Sam Harriman wrote on Facebook that its landlord, Dunwoody College, had declined to extend its lease, which was set to expire in January 2027. He said the decision threatened the business. At the time, a Dunwoody spokesperson told WCCO the college wanted the brewery to remain beyond the end of its lease but was not in a position to sign the long-term lease that was proposed, citing its focus on students and its mission. The brewery is named for the Greek myth of Sisyphus , the king condemned to roll a boulder up a hill only to watch it roll back down. The brewery has operated near downtown Minneapolis for more than 12 years and hosts regular stand-up shows and open mic nights. It has drawn nationally known comics, including "Saturday Night Live" cast member Michael Che. Jason Rantala contributed to this report. In: Minneapolis Featured Local Savings