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Theatre District restaurant wants to offer beer from taps right at your table
By adamg on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 3:44pm
Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery is drawing up plans for "taps on tables" that would let customers pour their own beer.
First, though, the restaurant will drop the brewery part of its name as it removes its current beer-making setup. And then it will have to convince neighboring residents and the Boston Licensing Board to approve the novel - for Boston - method of beer sales.
A remodeling proposal for Stuart Street restaurant went before the licensing board today. Rock Bottom attorney Matthew Fogelman said the restaurant will later file for permission for table taps, after he and his clients meet with the Midtown Park Plaza Neighborhood Association on March 9.
Board member Suzanne Ianella said she was looking forward to hearing how the taps on the table would work, in particular how the restaurant would bar inappropriate behavior, such as minors gaining access to the beer.
In the meantime, however, the board votes tomorrow on whether to approve Rock Bottom's proposal to remove the current brewery equipment. Along with that, the restaurant plans to reduce the number of seats from 325 to 291.
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Comments
I believe Littlest Bar has
I believe Littlest Bar has them. They definitely had one; kinda fun pouring your own Guiness.
First in the city?
Are you sure it will be the first in the city? I'm pretty sure that The Littlest Bar (on Broad Street - financial district) already has taps on a couple of tables. You swipe your credit card and can pour your own beer.
Ah! Thanks for the correction
I jumped to the conclusion based on the level of interest board members showed in the concept, almost as if they had never heard of it before. I shouldn't do that, obviously.
Why are they removing the brewery?
If you went to the hearing, did they say why they are removing it? When I go to the Rock Bottom chain's website, "brewery" seems a pretty integral part of their concept. They even have a graphic saying "OUR BEER IS BREWED ON SITE".
It'll be replaced with a new "concept"
They'll reopen as a "Rock Bottom Gold Medal Tap," which will serve Rock Bottom beers brewed at other locations nationwide.
This posting on Beer Advocate has the full details.
The entire bar and brewhouse are now planned to shutdown, then Rock Bottom will downsize into the remaining space (the restaurant area) and reopen as a Rock Bottom Gold Medal Tap in the spring of 2011. The concept behind this is to serve gold medal winning Rock Bottom beers from various locations throughout the US; similar to the Omaha, NE location. Unfortunately they will no longer brew beer at the Stuart Street location.
Oh man!
I LOVE it when enterprises introduce new concepts into their business plan! It's a game changer for the whole dynamic and really drills down to where the head winds are blowing. This new consumer tap solution is blue-sky thinking that's outside the box but represents a paradigm shift in best practices.
Yep, the Brooks Brothers-bedecked financial district drones who get confused by Stoddards are going to love this.
A board has to vote on
A board has to vote on whether a restaurant is allowed to have LESS tables?
WTF is this shit? Bureaucracy run amok.
It's actually the removal of the brewery part
Sorry for not being clear, will fix. The restaurant is currently licensed for "a restaurant, bar lounge area, a dining area and a brew area ..." among other things. They want to amend their license to remove the "brew area" part.
The licensing board has nothing to do with the number of seats - that's decided by the fire department - but they brought it up during the discussion.
That makes slightly more
That makes slightly more sense
Rock Bottom
Thanks for the article. A clarification. We did not "withdraw" the Table Tap proposal; that proposal was not part of this application. We are going to submit a separate application to the City dealing concerning the Table Taps, and we will first meet with the neighborhood group to fully explain the system and hopefully win their support.
It's a neat, innovative system and one that is very well-controlled electronically by management and staff. No minors will be allowed to sit at the Table Tap tables. Customers will love it. It's the modern day equivalent of a pitcher of beer that you can pour yourself, except it's fresh and cold from the tap.
Thanks for the clarification
I've amended the story to reflect that.