Opening Night. Photo courtesy of George Post
We received a message from someone on our website recently with a rather blunt suggestion about this blog: “You need to update it” – and you know what – they were right! With all the chaos during our opening we pretty much forgot about the blog. OK so here’s the update: We’re open! We actually started limited distribution in kegs and cans to a few local accounts in late October, but with the taproom’s official open date on December 7th, we’re now moving forward on all fronts. And here’s the weird thing: The 3+ years we’ve been building this venture made it seem as if we were racing towards some sort of “finish” line, but in reality, we just got to the “starting” line.
And what a great feeling it has been. The business, which now requires day-to-day operation and therefore quite a different set of roles, tasks & challenges, is no less stressful and exhausting than it’s been during the building & construction period – beer is indeed labor after all – but so far the emotional rewards are there: Seeing people walk through the door with smiles on their faces, belly up to the bar, take a sip of beer, and tell us it’s good – is a truly gratifying feeling. And of course the fact that we’re finally generating some revenue isn’t a bad thing at all!
We’re very happy thus far with the key pieces of the puzzle – our beer is being received positively, we’re slowly but surely increasing the places you can find it around the Bay Area (click on BEERS to see the bars, restaurants & stores where we're carried), and the taproom vibe seems relaxed and casual (a friend recently referred to it as “homey and industrial-cool”). The awesome thing about the taproom is that we’re seeing people from all walks of life, which is consistent with our simple goal of having a relaxed and casual place for anyone and everyone to have a beer, listen to music, watch the game, and chill with friends & family.
Not sure when the next blog post will be, but feel free to remind us. And look for us around town and/or stop by the taproom for a pint!