The Scottish beer giant is to expand by taking on a “show-stopping location” at the old Clydesdale Bank building in Lothian Road.
Brewdog’s plans include 25 taps of craft beer, food, an outside seating area and an integrated BottleDog to provide the full experience to its customers.
A licence application has been submitted to the city council with the firm seemingly confident of approval for their second pub after job advertisements for a manager, assistant manager and members of the bar team were published online.
SNP city centre councillor Alasdair Rankin said: “I think there has been an over-provision of pubs for some time in the area. It is a concern.
“We have to be quite careful about introducing new pubs. A lot of it depends on behaviour but generally I understand Brewdog would not encourage trouble.”
This comes after a controversial 915 capacity “superpub” in the former Picture House in Lothian Road was opened up by Wetherspoons in 2015.
There was a strong petition online against the move while the council approved an alcohol licence despite its own licensing policy, saying it was of “serious, special concern” because of the number of existing licensed premises in the Tollcross area.
Cllr Rankin added: “Since Wetherspoons opened I believe it has been managed well with bouncers and I’ve seen a police presence at times in the area. I trust the licensing board to make the right decision.”
Research from the Centre for Research on Environment, Society and Health in 2015 showed there are 80.2 alcohol outlets per km2 in the area of Tollcross compared with the council average of 11.7 per km2.
However Gordon Henderson, senior development manager at Scotland Federation of Small Businesses believes competition is good for the pubs in the Tollcross area.
He said: “Another small business opening in Edinburgh is fantastic news. It is good to see those businesses going to different areas of the city too. Millions has been spent on the eastern end of Princes Street. It is great that other areas are also getting investment.
“As a regular pub goer, outdoor areas is something Edinburgh is lacking. It is great to sit outside in a beer garden and I think that would be very well received by residents and visitors alike. Competition is healthy for pubs and it won’t be new for the already established places in the area.”
Brewdog, which came to Cowgate in 2011, declined to comment on its plans.
