After several months of community members wondering what was happening inside the space formerly occupied by Patty's Eggnest, Monroe's newest taproom officially opened its doors.
Route 2 Taproom and Grazing Place (19837 U.S. 2) owners Adam Miller, Greg Nygreen and Frank Espinoza celebrated their grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that took place at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 9. Taps were flowing, barbecue was cooking and the room was packed with customers wanting to celebrate the new alehouse.
Located near Haggen Northwest Fresh grocery store, the new taproom celebrates locally-brewed craft beers and ciders from all over Washington and Oregon. Passionate beer-lovers, Miller, Nygreen and Espinoza have been developing their vision for the taproom since February of this year. Once they established their business plan, they went to work researching the area, renovating the space and hand-selecting each brew.
And since beer and barbecue make a natural pairing, the entrepreneurial trio decided to collaborate when it came to food.
"We wanted to be in the taproom business, but you're required to have food,GÇ¥ Espinoza said. "Rather than have a menu of pretzels and the basic bar food that you can have, we went with Jeff and his family, who do a great job and are really well-known around town for their catered barbecue events.GÇ¥
Jeff Dickinson, a third-generation Monroe firefighter, has owned and operated a mobile barbecue business called Hook & Ladder BBQ for over two years. His menu at the Route 2 Taproom includes dishes like BBQ sushi, pulled pork sandwiches, smoked chicken pizza, bratwurst, brisket and more. He also features sides like smoked macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, baked beans and macaroni salad.
Dickinson has won numerous awards for his barbecue delicacies.
"In the end we're a taproom that has great food rather than a restaurant that has beer,GÇ¥ Espinoza said.
The taproom features brews from all around the Pacific Northwest region, including Spokane, Woodinville, Snohomish, Issaquah, Arlington, Bellingham, Seattle and Portland. Miller, Nygreen and Espinoza try to maintain a well-rounded and diverse selection, from the darkest porters to the lightest IPAs.
"It's all about the beer for us,GÇ¥ Espinoza said. "We intend on rotating the taps very frequently, so that every time someone comes in there's going to be something new on the menu board.GÇ¥
The taproom uses technology a way to enhance the customer experience. By visiting the Route 2 Taproom website or its Facebook page, customers can find out exactly what beers are on tap, the alcohol content of each brew and where it was made. The live tap list will send out an alert anytime a new keg is tapped, and gives a running account of how much beer is left in each keg.
"Our beer menu is digital,GÇ¥ Espinoza said. "So everything on the beer menu is live.GÇ¥
Once a keg runs dry and a replacement keg is tapped, a Tweet will get sent out to Route 2 Taproom followers, detailing the exchange. A Tweet might say, "Triplehorn Folkvang Irish Red is on, replacing Georgetown Lucille,GÇ¥ or "Issaquah White Frog Ale is on, replacing Leavenworth Whistling Pig.GÇ¥
Route 2 Taproom servers use handheld devices equipped with point-of-sale technology, which is meant to streamline the ordering process by enabling the server to transmit both the food and the beer order directly from the customer's table.
"So someone's already working on pulling the beer before the server leaves the table,GÇ¥ Espinoza said. "That allows us to go much faster and take care of customers much quicker.GÇ¥
Tasked with cutting the ribbon during last week's grand opening celebration, Monroe Mayor Geoffrey Thomas gave a brief presentation, congratulating Miller, Nygreen, Espinoza and Dickinson on their accomplishment.
"It is a real pleasure to be opening up another locally-owned business here in town,GÇ¥ Thomas said.
Open seven days a week, the Route 2 Taproom and Grazing Place is the second new alehouse to open in Monroe in the past month. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on June 25 at Dreadnought Brewing, which is located in the Fryelands.
The Route 2 Taproom is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Customers are welcome to enjoy a fenced-in outdoor eating area, which features games and a stage that can be used for musical performances. Taproom owners are planning to eventually incorporate trivia nights, open mic nights, live music and weekly brewer's nights, where different brewers will be invited to give presentations about their beers.
For more information on the Route 2 Taproom, please visit the website at: http://www.roadtriptaprooms.com/, or the Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/route2taproom/timeline. To receive Tweets whenever a new keg is tapped, please follow them at: https://twitter.com/Route2taproom.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment