A brewing company that started in Ashland but left after the 1997 New Year’s Day Flood inundated its operation has returned to the Rogue Valley with a pub.

Rogue Ales & Spirits brings its signature beers, wine and other refreshments, along with food service provided by Black Barn Farm, to Bigham Knoll in Jacksonville.

An opening for the new establishment — Rogue Ales Patio at the Schoolhouse — was held Saturday.

While the operation is set to run through December, the company is looking to locate permanently in the valley.

When Steven Garrett became president of Rogue last August he wanted to expand pub operations to other locations in Oregon, said Caitlin Hopkins, vice president of marketing for the Newport-headquartered firm. “Part of that was coming back to Southern Oregon.”

Rogue will operate out of the historic 1908 Jacksonville School House at Bigham Knoll. The site was renovated in 2007, and the Schoolhaus Brewhaus operated there until shortly after the coronavirus pandemic.

Rogue will use a small bar space inside with a few tables. An adjacent overhang and patio will offer more seating. Heating units or fire pits will be brought in for the outdoor spaces when the weather turns cold. The company plans to offer music at the venue.

At locations where it expands, Rogue hopes to become a hub for the community as it has in Newport, Hopkins said.

“What we are trying to do is see what Jacksonville brings, to make sure what fits with these communities,” Hopkins said.

“We’ll go to the end of the year and see what is working and what is not, and how we might work for a long-term solution,” Hopkins said. Staying at the Bigham Knoll location will be one option to explore.

Rogue also has brew pubs on Pier 39 in Astoria and in Portland on the east side and near Portland State University. The company may also look at a location in the Willamette Valley, perhaps Eugene or Salem, Hopkins said.

Black Barn Farm is located in the Applegate. It began operating in late 2020, offering food at various markets around the valley and at events. Earlier this year it ran a food truck, which was located for a while at the intersection of Highway 238 and Upper Applegate Road.

Proprietor Nathan Trivers has operated pub and grill sites in Richmond and El Sobrante, California, for 15 years. He still owns those operations.

Black Barn will have five employees to turn out food from the kitchen located in the school house.

A full menu, including farm-to-table fare, will be offered. Black Barn bakes its breads and makes its sauces. “Once we settle in, there will be daily and weekly specials,” Trivers said.

Four partners created Rogue Ales in 1988 and set up a brewing operation in the basement at 31 Water St. in Ashland with a pub above. Since the company left after the flood, the location has been the site of several more pubs.

In early 1989, looking to expand business, the firm decided to open another brew pub on the Newport Historic Bayfront. The operation grew, and the company now has its brewing operation with a pub, located at Newport’s South Beach, though the original pub is still there.

On tap at Bigham Knoll will be 10 Rogue beers, which will include seasonal editions as they appear, and perhaps some throwbacks, Hopkins said. There will also be seltzers and, on the non-alcoholic side, the firm’s root beer and sodas. Valley View Vineyards will supply four different wines.

Rogue will also have five employees, some of whom will be wait staff. More staff may be added based on traffic or for Britt Festival event days.

Rogue also produces whiskeys, but those won’t be offered at the Jacksonville site. Rogue’s beers, spirits and sodas are made with ingredients grown on Rogue Farms in Independence.

Dormouse Farm Shoppe had operated at the location since December. Its website lists a final operating day there of May 31.

Bigham Knoll was restored by Mel and Brooke Ashland beginning in 2007, and the upper levels of the school building houses firms that the couple runs. The campus has since been used for a variety of events.

Rogue Ales Patio at the Schoolhouse will be open Wednesdays through Sundays, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. More information can be found at www.rogue.com.