Thieves Guild Cidery Rolled a Nat 20 on Their Charisma Check

A pegasus landed on the hewn wooden table. As we looked up from our drinks, a tattooed woman looked back at us. “Is this a magical artifact?” asked the dark-haired cidermaster across the table. “Street treasure,” she replied. “I found it on a walk today and wanted to give it to the Guild.”

My tablemates looked at each other and smiled. “Peter, this is one of our bartenders,” the sandy-bearded guildmaster and tavernkeep told me as he slid the statue towards his companion. At Thieves Guild Cidery, this kind of random event happens all the time. “A lot of the things on the shelves were gifts from patrons,” owner and aforementioned cidermaster Jordy Kirkman says.

“Not only is this a place to relax, but it’s a place to find the quest to go on.”

“Yeah, nerds are pretty cool,” adds Max Knudsen, Thieves Guild’s other owner and guildmaster/tavernkeep. Since opening in October 2024, the fantasy-themed cidery and meadery has received a resounding welcome from Salt Lake City. “We see the numbers go up every month,” recounts Knudsen. “We’re pretty stoked about that.”

The success of Thieves Guild is not chance: inspired by the idea of third spaces, Knudsen and Kirkman have worked hard to cultivate community while filling an untapped market. A third space is a public place people can gather and socialize in without spending too much money.

“Max and I met [on the] opening day of Quarters,” remembers Kirkman. “I would go there on weekdays and paint and get to know the bartenders and chill. I didn’t want to be at home and wanted to be in a cool, creative space.”

“If we were gonna make a bar, it was gonna be the bar we wanted to drink at,” adds Knudsen. “What drives a lot of [our] decisions here is making it a place [where] people don’t feel that financial burden — they can just come, enjoy the space and do the things that they want to do.”

That’s where the fantasy element comes in. Every corner of Thieves Guild is filled with purposeful detail: The walls are adorned with swords and fantasy creatures while each bathroom has a different theme (“They’re portals to different planes — they just happen to be functional bathrooms from the tireless efforts of our house mages,” explains Kirkman). Behind the bar is a card and board games library and series of taps fashioned to look like wooden kegs. Lighting the room are a series of LED sconces and candles that the pair designed, printed and installed themselves. “It took a lot of learning electrical engineering,” Kirkman laughs. “Luckily, we have friends who are really smart.”

Knudsen and Kirkman’s shared love of nerd culture makes the space welcoming. The duo has made gaming events an important part of the tavern’s identity, featuring Dungeons and Dragons night every Tuesday, nerd trivia every other Wednesday, and Magic: The Gathering night on Thursdays — filling the bar with people eager to learn and interact with the fiction of the Thieves Guild universe. “We thought maybe 20 people would show up,” says Knudsen. “Getting to role play those stories that you’ve always thought about doing is very gratifying.”

“Getting to role play those stories that you’ve always thought about doing is very gratifying.”

Topping off any visit to Thieves Guild is a glass of house-brewed cider or mead. The founders began brewing together during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to perfect a number of nerd-named ciders like Neverwinter, a dry, boundary-pushing cider, and Prancing Pony, a traditional-styled cider made from the Kirkman family farm’s apples. “It’s a growing market. Ciders and meads can be as diverse as all the beers people know about,” Knudsen states.

Looking ahead, the duo hope to sell cans, host an in-house renaissance fair and educate Utahns about the complex natures of cider and mead. For now, the two are happy. Our glasses empty, Knudsen and Kirkman grin. “Not only is this a place to relax,” begins Knudsen, “but it’s a place to find a quest to go on.”

Still thirsty for more adventure? Follow the tavern on Instagram at @thievesguildcidery for updates.

Read more from SLUG about Beer and Spirits here:
Mike Brown: The Local Leader of Local Drunks: Sunyin Marci
Lessons in Mixology and Alcohol History: Alexi Fisher’s Cocktail Collective