Half Acre Tap Room AND RESTAURANT

Their menus better not be comic book influenced or I'll picket and boycott the place.

 

wood be very stoked to see the menus made out of wood

 

In that antique sports memorabilia store??

 

Well, look who stopped counting today...

 

...no SquidOwl Hot Yoga Studio?

 

I'll preface this by saying I'm a big fan of HA's beers. On the business side of things I question their decision making. Wouldn't it make sense to just go through the hassle of combining the taproom with the restaurant and make a full fledged brewpub? I just think in the long run they'd be glad they simplified their business instead of having these 3 separate spaces.

 

Could be. I figured by now they would be able to service the entire greater Chicagoland area with Daisy Cutter and they haven't figured that out. So who knows.

 

I also believe that there are limits on how much beer a brewpub can make. So probably better to be separate entities.

 

has that ever been a goal of theirs or are you just disappointed by the lack of DC availability in your area?

if they wanted to expand production and distribution they'd have to move or get a second larger location. i don't see either of those happening in the next 5 years. i doubt they can even add another fermenter unless they start putting them on the roof or hanging them from the clouds.

unless someone is in brewery business, i'm assuming all of us are just talking out of our asses in regards to timelines on licenses and all the legalities with them. the alderman in HA's ward is already a huge fan of them and gabriel has always come off as a pretty intelligent dude with a vision for the brewery. to dismiss this move as short sighted without knowing their full plan or the process to achieve what you want from HA is just stupid.

 

Please just start shipping Daisy Cutter to the west burbs for fucks sake!!

 

I would say it's a brilliant business decision. Have you heard Josh at Revolution bitch about new laws and production caps with brew pubs? Why not get around that by opening a restaurant RIGHT next to the taproom?

 

I can get it at Bloomingdale Binny's whenever. Just figured they'd be a lot more popular by now with fringe craft beer people. When I bring them up to suburbanites they usually have never heard of them.

Yep. Is it a crazy idea to get a second larger location like Rev?

They're a private business so they can obviously make whatever business decision they want. It's a low risk move so I'm sure it will work out for them fine. Just stating an opinion. Obviously I'm not as we'll versed as everyone else in this thread in brewpub legalities. Thanks for providing some nice details instead of making blanket statements on how it's impossible to distribute and be a brewpub.

I haven't heard Josh at Revolution bitch about it but Josh at Revolution seems to be following the business model I'm recommending. Great brewpub and I can get their flagship beer anywhere in the city and burbs easily.

 

Perhaps Half Acre's most frustrating yet respectable trait: refusing to grow beyond a certain size.

 

Why? They can't even supply their existing accounts.

 

nothing against jake, can't blame him for wanting DC by where he lives. But trbergman, by now you have to realize that beer advocate and economics are like oil and water.

 

Here is the difference I see between Half Acre and Revolution in regards to expansion. Revolution from DAY 1 seemed like it had unlimited funding. Whether from a huge loan from the bank or a deep pocked investor, they did everything ideally from the get go. Look the the brewpub, it's beautiful and a work of art. Not cheap in the least. Now look at their production facility, huge as a *************, room for expansion and once again, everything done perfectly from day 1. Compare that to Half Acre. It took some money to open that place but you can tell they had a hard budget. They have expanded over time, but 1 small step at a time in order to not over-leverage themselves. It's not an ideal sequence, but if you work in baby steps, and are responsible financially every step of they way, it will still lead to success. Just a little bit slower.

Both make great beer. Both companies will be a staple in Chicago far into the future. I just don't feel it's fair to fault Half Acre for taking a different, more conservative approach to expansion compared to Revolution. You just don't know the behinds the scene investor element which is probably the biggest factor when looking at expansion.

Although I do really want Daisy Cutter in the west suburbs...like yesterday.

 

Why? Cuz Stone Cold said so!