Dallas is about to share Dirk Nowitzki with Los Angeles while the team created something amazing in his hometown. A little outside Dallas though, things went sideways for one of the Mavs’ legend’s projects. Dirk Nowitzki’s business ventures aren’t usually publicized but his investment in a Texas-based brewery was a huge one. Rollertown Beerworks had a knack for attracting celebrity attention. It counted Ben Stiller among its supporters who also took the beer to thousands of Swifties. Despite the hype and attention, Rollertown Beerworks has reached its unsustainable point.
As Mr Wonderful has said seated beside former Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, the beverage industry has a way of crushing startups like cockroaches. Rollertown Beerworks is shutting down its brewery in Celina. Rising costs is the primary reason for this move.
Only a few months ago, Rollertown was a big topic on social media and a feature on D Magazine, Dallas’ representative publication. Ben Stiller had introduced one of their beers at Taylor Swift’s legendary Eras Tour. The shot of the comedic legend wearing the Rollertown Beerworks cap under a VIP tent at her concert stop went viral and the brand got its publicity, a move planned by Stiller’s brother, Jonathan who has led marketing campaigns for beverage brands before.
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The founders’ were ambitious about celebrity involvement and got their dream investor in Dirk Nowitzki. Besides being an investor, the 2011 NBA champion got a beer dedicated to him – The Big German – by Rollertown.
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Rollertown originally launched in the crunched economic landscape of 2020 with very little fundraising at a small location off of Oklahoma Drive in Celina. By 2022, with the marketing efforts by the Stiller brothers, they scaled it up with another location in Frisco. They have 20 kinds of beers on tap and in June 2025, had plans to grow procuction to 20,000 barrels a year.
Of course, this plan seemed near impossible at the small brewery in Celina. Rollertown initially said that they had no intention of moving out the town 45 minutes outside Dallas. Circumstances however, changed this year and they’re unable to keep that promise.
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A new chapter for Dirk Nowitzki and Rollertown
Rollertown Beerworks is not completely shutting down operations and Dirk Nowitzki is still part of it. It’s however, unable to operate from Celina where it originated.
In a social media post, the brewers stated, “With the significant rise in costs over the past several years, and with our rent here in Celina doubling this past January, it has simply become too costly to continue operating our original taproom. We wish this weren’t the case, but it simply isn’t feasible.”
The rise in rent made it unsustainable. Rollertown is completely shifting operations to its new $12 million Frisco HQ where there is a 11,000-square-foot production facility with a new 60 BBL brewhouse which has been in the works since 2021. They officially broke ground on the new facility in March 2025, with Dirk Nowitzki in attendance. Like the one in Celina, the Frisco location will have an outdoor beer garden which will served The Big German.
It’s not a big setback to Nowitzki, who’s active in the Dallas community with his philantropy. He may have taken a step back from day to day operations with the Mavericks but he remains committed to supporting Dallas-based businesses and programs aiding children.
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He’s going to have a weekly commute to Los Angeles as he makes his sportscasting debut on Amazon Prime this season. The Mavericks just gifted a fully furbished basketball court to his hometown in Wurzburg, Germany but he’s not been there nor has he been spooted around Rollertown in Celina recently.
The Celina Taproom’s final day will be Saturday, October 11, during the City’s Oktoberfest celebration. The opening for the Frisco location has a tentative date of October 22, but it’s not set in stone yet. Fingers crossed, it features a 7 foot dunkman.