Founded in 2011, Martin City Brewing Co. is working on its seventh location, which will open inside the Kansas City International Airport’s new terminal.

It’s the latest installment in the craft brewery’s five-year expansion. Martin City Brewing currently has six locations and produces about 10,000 barrels of beer a year.

Most of the brewery’s expansion happened during the pandemic, which was a gamble. But it has paid off, partly because the brewery pairs its beer with stone-fired pizzas from its accompanying kitchen.

“The last six months have been some of the hardest of my life, second probably only to the six months during Covid,” Martin City owner Matt Moore said. “I wasn’t looking to open all these locations back to back, but we’re approaching the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Martin City Brewing opened two locations this year: one at 9418 Missouri 7 Highway in Lake Lotawana under the new Station 7 brand, and the second a traditional location at 8802 Renner Blvd. in Lenexa City Center. Moore said he’s particularly excited about the future airport location.

“I’m really stoked about what the future of the airport looks like,” Moore said. “It should be a different location for us, putting us on the world stage.”