The owners of Lancaster Brewing Company are taking their product outside Lancaster.

Peter Keares, president of Keares Restaurant Group of Lancaster, said his company plans to convert the Doc Holliday's Steakhouse & Saloon on Eisenhower Boulevard in Swatara Township, Dauphin County, into Lancaster Brewing Company of Harrisburg.

"We have two Doc Holliday's near Harrisburg, and one's enough," Keares said.

Keares Restaurant Group has owned Lancaster Brewing Company at Walnut and Plum streets since 2002.

The company owns four other restaurants, including Gibraltar and Barny's Grill, in addition to the Doc Holliday's in Dauphin County and one in New Cumberland.

Keares said he likes to "do something big" with one of his restaurants every six to eight years.

"In this business, you have to do that or you become stale and people pass you by," he said.

The Harrisburg area is ripe for a brewpub, Keares said, and it's still close enough to Lancaster that people will be drawn to the Lancaster name.

"We think this is a great location for a Lancaster Brewing Company," he said. "There's a good bit of tourism on that side of Harrisburg."

Keares Restaurant Group plans to renovate the restaurant's interior to set up brewing equipment and make the building look similar to the Lancaster Brewing location in Lancaster.

Renovations are scheduled to be done over a two-week period in early December, with the new restaurant opening in mid-December, Keares said.

The restaurant menu will be similar, but not identical, to the one featured at the Lancaster location.

Brewing beer on site will begin some time after the restaurant opens, Keares said.

Also, the Doc Holliday's restaurant now is only open for dinner. As Lancaster Brewing Company of Harrisburg, the facility will be open for both lunch and dinner, Keares said.

E-mail: preilly@lnpnews.com