A hat tip, along with a couple of corrections, to UrbanDaddy, which scooped us on this beer bar and package store, but must have spent a little too much time coming up with a trademark story-ending zinger to get the name of the store or the date of the soft opening right: World Beer Company Bottle Shop (not The Bottle Store) soft opens this Saturday (not tomorrow), with a grand opening to follow on Saturday, May 28.
Owner Clay Hartmann and partners including Walton Taylor are transforming 2116 Greenville Avenue, formerly The Blarney Stone, into a combination pub and beer store offering 500 different beers.
The size of the selection may be impressive, and will put a special emphasis on kegs from Texas breweries such as (512) and Franconia. But Hartman is the first to admit that he probably won't have the monopoly on any rare releases -- at least, not at first.
"Craft beer from the U.S. will be half our selection, and the other half
will be from the rest of the world," he says, listing Stone Brewing
Co., Lagunitas, Avery, North Coast and Rogue as a few of the brands the
Bottle Shop will carry.
"One thing is, we're not beer snobs. You
can get anything from Budweiser to Chimay. At some of these other
places, you'll get dirty looks if you order an American beer. We want to
give more people opportunities to try stuff they haven't had."
Possible promotions include a Tuesday tasting aiming for a happy hour atmosphere, a reward program for frequent customers and mix-and-match six-packs. You won't be able to just buy a sixer and drink it in the bar, though. Hartman says there will be a mark-up for drinking in the pub, which includes big-screen TVs and what he describes as "a lounge vibe."
Retail prices will be around or just above supermarket beer prices, he says. Hours will likely be 10:30 or 11 a.m. to around 11 p.m., and while the pub won't offer food, customers can bring in wares from the food trailers and pavilion to be located across the street.
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Scardello Artisan Cheese is offering a cheese pairing for Peticolas Brewing Company 2-4 p.m. Saturday. Cost is $5. Since we last checked in with Peticolas, the Dallas Planning Commission approved the zoning change request on May 5, sending it on to the City Council, which, fingers crossed, will approve it at the June 8 meeting.
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And in other local-ish up-and-coming brewery news, Denton Armadillo Ale Works has started an ambitious Kickstarter campaign to raise $30,000 toward a grain mill, kegs, brewhouse and other expenses. With 43 days to go, 45 backers have already pledged more than $2,300 toward that lofty figure.
