After almost 10 years making and pouring craft suds in the high mountain valley that inspired its name, South Park Brewing Co. is bidding a fond farewell to Fairplay, and moving to Colorado Springs.

A grand re-opening, in the former Smiling Toad Brewery building off 21st Street in Old Colorado City, could come as soon as late spring, said Paul Kemp, who founded South Park Brewing with his wife, Megan Sebastian.

Kemp said Monday he was in the process of relocating both the eight-barrel brewing system, as well as (eventually) his and Sebastian’s household and two teen daughters, to their new home base some 70 miles away.

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“We are fully moving the operation down there, picking up the whole thing and going into a bigger market,” Kemp said.

South Park Brewing’s last day in Fairplay is March 31.

“We’re leaving behind a lot of great memories, but we’re just excited to get down there, excited to be a part of Colorado Springs personally and professionally,” Kemp said.

Professionally, the brewery will be taking up local residence in a leased and slightly smaller space than the one they’re leaving behind in Fairplay, a popular whistle-stop for outdoor enthusiasts heading to and from the mountains, but where fewer than 800 people get their mail year-round.

Smiling Toad’s founding brewer, Biff Morehead, announced his retirement and the sale of the building, and permanently closed his brewery, in April of last year.

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A former restaurant industry professional and “home-brewer that got out of control,” Kemp said that when he and Sebastian founded South Park in September 2014, it was the only professional brewing game in town.

“We were very excited to be able to bring a brewery to Fairplay,” Kemp said.

In recent years, Frisco’s Highside Brewing opened a location just down the street, so South Park’s departure won’t be depriving the town of locally made craft suds.

Highside produces “a great product, and they’re great people,” Kemp said.

South Park’s new urban location in the Springs, in a free-standing spot in a highly-walkable, touristy neighborhood, comes with plenty of off-street parking and potentially game-changing opportunities for foot traffic and exposure, he said.

Work is set to get started soon on minor adjustments and a “refresh” of the public-facing spaces so the look and feel channel the South Park vibe.

“A lot of people from the Springs know us already, and we want to continue that tradition and brand recognition,” Kemp said. Other than the move, the “business is staying the same, the name is staying the same, and the beer staying the same.”

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South Park Brewing’s food offerings will see an update, expanding from a current “light bite” menu to include heartier pub fare, such as burgers, hand-breaded fried chicken, and sandwiches, prepared in an on-site food truck Kemp purchased to serve as the brewery’s kitchen, with “full table service” available in the taproom, Kemp said.

After a lengthy stretch of months that saw more breweries close than open in Colorado Springs, South Park Brewing Co. is one of two new craft beer brands set to open here in the coming months. Construction on Lakewood-based WestFax Brewing Co.’s Springs new taproom, at 31st and Pikes Peak Avenue, appears to be wrapping up, though the company has yet to announce a grand opening.