Roberto Oran, of Salem, paints a new mural honoring North and South America at Xicha Brewing in West Salem on April 29, 2019. Anna Reed, Statesman Journal


Since the November 2017 day it first opened the doors and welcomed guests to its colorful dining area, Xicha Brewing, Salem's Latinx brewpub, has carved out a distinctive space for itself in Salem's beer and dining scenes.

At the time, they were West Salem's first brewery and one of its independently-owned dining options. Now, with additional West Salem food and drink options recently opened and on their way, the not-yet-two-year-old brewery is upping its game and expanding its reach even more.

Xicha's beer moves beyond the brewery

Salem's robust brewing scene is built on a sincere love of beer, and while food, for many people, is a key element of enjoying a brewpub visit, at Salem's brewpubs the food is often secondary, a changeable addition to the beers. One of the things that distinguishes Xicha in the Salem scene is that the two are intertwined within the identity of the space. 

"We've always prided ourselves on having our food dialed in," said marketing manager Alonso Brambila, "but as time has gone on we've been taking more inspiration to tie those dishes in to our beer."

Brewer Matt Dakopolos' lagers and ales designed to pull ingredient inspiration from and offer pairing support to the food of chef Ricardo Antunez. Now, diners will be able to experience Xicha's brews with Latin American flavors beyond the West Salem brewery.  They've begun bottling Xicha brews and distributing them, both in bottles and on draft, to more than 20 restaurants and retailers in Salem, Woodburn, Corvallis, Eugene and Portland. 

The first beers they bottled were large format (22-ounce) versions of the Guava Golden Ale and Mango Especial, their mango pale ale.

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In honor of their Cinco de Mayo celebration, scheduled for May 4, Xicha is releasing two new 500-mL bottlings: the Clásica, an amber lager in the style of a German märzen; and Cerveza Negra, their version of a dark lager. 

"We've been researching the trends that people are into," Brambila said, and they're rolling out new bottled options based on styles that beer drinkers in Salem, Portland and Eugene seem to prefer. 

At the brewpub, Dakopolos continues releasing new beers on draft. His latest, now available, is called Passiflora, is a hazy passionfruit IPA. 

New menu items 

Beyond the beer, chef-owner Antunez is changing it up on the menu as well. There's a single-serving Paella de Mariscos ($15), a miniature skillet of saffron and shrimp rice studded with clams, scallops, chicken and chorizo.  

A chicken adobado torta ($11), stuffed with avocado, romaine, and pickled red onion is the newest option for meat-eaters, but Brambila said, they're also working "to make [the menu] more friendly for vegetarians." 

Vegetarian empanadas ($11), filled with quinoa, carrot, zucchini and broccoli and sauced with peanut romesco, were previously an occasional special. Now, they're available daily. 

For pescetarians, the new menu includes Tostadas de Camarón ($12), a pair of crisp corn tortillas topped with shrimp, arugula, red onion, and pineapple guacamole.

Beer, Food, Culture

Since day one, Xicha's motto has been cerveza, comida, cultura; beer, food, culture, and the goal of sharing all three. As the brewery grows, sharing Latinx culture remains as essential as ever.

They've recently debuted game nights where participants play Millenial Lotería, their own satirical version of a classic pictographic game similar to bingo. One card features el brunch, brunch, complete with avocado toast. 

They've also commissioned a new mural of the Americas in the dining area of the brewpub from local artist Roberto Oran.

The idea behind it, explained Brambila, is "Americano como tú, American like you."

"There's Southern Americans and there's North Americans," he said. While there may be a tendency to only think of people from the U.S. as Americans, they're hoping the mural will illustrate the idea of American-ness into something more geographically inclusive.

"We all belong here. No matter where you're from, what background it is, we all belong here."

With food from  Antunez and beers like Dakopolos, Xicha, as it ages, is proving to be a nice place to belong. 


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