Yes, we are open.
Being the great historian that I am, I managed to take one photo on opening night before my camera ran low on batteries. Luckily a few others grabbed shots, including this one that I've been anticipating in my sleep the last year or so. Good times all around the first few nights. Wednesday was kinda chaotic, but it seems to get better each night as we work the kinks out. Overall, our staff, including managers Michelle & Greg and Chef Jason did a Herculean job of serving everyone and keeping the positive vibe going. I gotta admit that I do feel like I've been run over by a truck.
We got a little break tonight for the Super Bowl, which was appreciated since we are all pretty worn out after several of us put in back-to-back-to-back-to-back 15-18 hour days. This blog has previously been about the business and while we start to trot out our beers and dishes, it's hard to keep away from all the navel gazing that I've been doing.
Being 'too' busy is the kind of problem that a lot of people wish for. We are adjusting staffing, food orders and making more space for the kitchen everyday, but the brewery is slower to respond, which is by nature since beer takes a lot longer to make. Our first casualty is going to be that we will be missing some of our mainstay beers over the next few months. Although we have ample serving tanks, we only have four fermenters and people are drinking the beer faster than we can make it. We are looking for more tanks and trying to make the best use of what we have, but here's advance notice that we are gonna be out of hoppy ales for a bit sometime next week. Luckily we've got some nice guest brews on, including some hoppy ones like Goose Green Line and Founders Double Trouble to tide you over.
Also, come on in an enjoy a pint of Eugene, our first seasonal this week while it lasts. Brewer Jim was wholly responsible for this black beauty that is warming bellies nightly on Milwaukee Ave.