There’s a novel called Don Quixote, wherein Sancho Panza, the slovenly, loyal squire, tells the tale of two relatives in judging a fine wine in a tavern.
One sips it, swishes it in his mouth, and says it’s wonderful, except for the slight taste of leather. The other takes a drink. It’s excellent, he says, except for that off hint of iron.
The barflies mock the relatives for arguing about what’s off. But when the wine cask is emptied later, the tavern owner finds an iron key on a leather thong. This is the story I share anytime I’m hosting tasting events or overhear guests at the bar talking about a beer they’re trying.
I love to listen and hear all the different things people taste and experience with their beer. That’s my zen.
I’ve missed a lot of that the last couple of months with only doing to-go sales, so you can imagine how excited I am (and our team is!) to begin pouring beers again. And that day is here.
Aside from that fun news, here’s the latest.
Open Hours
Now that we’re open for on-premise consumption again, we’ve gotta increase those hours so it’s convenient for you!
Tuesday-Thursday we’re open from 4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Friday: we’re open from noon to 4:00 p.m. – midnight
Saturday: we’re open from noon to midnight
Sunday: we’re open from noon to 7:00 p.m.
And Monday we’re closed.
We’re still doing to-go orders, so anytime you’d like something set aside for you, simply shoot me a note at garth@garthsbrewbar to coordinate a pickup.
Brand New Take Two
We’ve used a lot of the downtime to make additional improvements, maintenance updates and other tweaks to the business. Though we opened up in December, it feels like we’re starting from scratch again. It’s tough, but there’s something beautiful in that, too.
Some more cool things that are either implemented or in motion to be complete extremely soon:
- We’ll soon be able to accept Apple and Google pay. We’re just waiting to receive the adapters to the payment terminals.
- A baby changing station is installed in the second bathroom.
- Our application for outdoor seating is underway. Fingers crossed it moves quickly!
- We gave Marvin the Moose a good grooming so he can stay looking suave for your upcoming visit.
- Head over to www.GarthsBrewBar.com for a new experience. Like Marvin, we revamped the site.
Financials
Simply put, people are amazing and we’re going to make it through. We’ve had eGift card purchases, curbside pickups, friends from out of state driving in to haul beer back. While we lost some product – particularly the food – due to being out of date, we’ve been able to pay most of the bills.
The other bills we’re still having conversations around. For us, what’s super important is being able to provide the space to escape, relax and enjoy craft beer. That’s always been the goal – whether we make money or not, as long as we can continue to offer the space to you, THAT’S the dream. To those that have helped us, are helping us, and will help us continue to deliver on that dream: thank you.
Down The Road
The future? I wish I could predict it. I dream of hosting events again, launching new brands into Madison and bringing back those awesome pop-up food vendor events. I’d also still love to celebrate us winning the Greatest American Beer Bar in Wisconsin, too. Alas, we’ll continue to open up as much as the city allows and to do so as safely as possible.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: thanks for being on this journey with us.
Your Wish-Fors?
Have any questions about craft beer or the bar that you want to learn about in our newsletter? Noticed something awesome from a brewery or another brand’s newsletter that you’d like to see us also do? You know what to do: garth@garthsbrewbar.com
April’s update (2020)
February’s update (2020)
October’s update (2019)
September’s update (2019)
July’s update (2019)
June’s update (2019)
April’s update (2019)