There’s been a great deal of construction and craftsmanship taking place on the corner of 29th Street and University Avenue, the site of Rouleur Brewing’s upcoming North Park tasting room. Owner Rawley Macias has been on-site for all of it, not as a spectator overseeing contractors, but as a hands-on participant, working with his staff to forge nearly every element of the new space into reality. With nearly all of that fabrication work complete, Macias and company are making the big push to ready the new tasting room for its soft-opening, which will take place by this weekend.
In its most previous life, the project site was home to Belgian Beer and Waffle and, before that, a Starbucks. Though the former business added a few design touches here and there, Macias says the place still mostly felt like an outdated cookie-cutter outpost of the Seattle coffee mega-chain. And that just wouldn’t do in his mind, especially considering the site’s historic-building status.
“We originally planned to do minimal work on the space—maybe add artwork and put in a draft system—but once we got in there, we thought the tiles and faux wood were hideous, so we redid it all,” says Macias. “We welded and plasma-cut over 5,000 pounds of steel on-site and fabricated it into bar tops, belly bars and the draft system. That steel was sanded then exposed to various types of acids to give it a cool high-gloss rustic patina look. We’re really proud of what we’ve produced.”
Macias’ professional experience as a mechanical engineer came in extremely handy, extending to the glycol-lined, below-counter refrigeration units his team installed due to the fact the tasting room does not have a traditional cold-box. He was also key in building a large table incorporating bike gears, chains and LED lights, which will serve as a centerpiece and a nod to Rouleur’s Carlsbad tasting room. It’s a way of connecting his flagship with the new vessel in the company’s armada, while celebrating North Park’s more relaxed community spirit.
“In Carlsbad, we have a gigantic, moving bicycle-wheel wall, cycling jerseys and tons of racing photos. That suits the crowd and demographics we get up there,” says Macias. “In North Park, it’s not as serious from a cycling perspective. Part of that is because we don’t have as many walls to work with since the building features lots of floor-to-ceiling windows. That said, we’ve installed a huge wall print from a Japanese cycling-inspired image specialist we commissioned. He drew a custom piece with the North Park sign and a cartoony cyclist chasing a beer. It’s colorful, flamboyant and a different vibe from Carlsbad.”
Rouleur North Park comes in at 1,200 interior square feet. It will be able to seat 75 people inside with room for 50 more on a 550-square-foot outdoor patio that has been extended to wrap around the building. There will be 20 beers and carbonated beverages (including hard kombucha and alcoholic yerba mate) as well as four wines on the opening-day tap list. And while the plan is for the venue to eventually be open from noon to 10 p.m. daily, during the soft-open period, the tasting room will be open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Once evergreen operating hours are in place, there will be certain exceptions. Macias plans to extend closing hours to as late as midnight when shows are taking place at popular next-door entertainment venue, The Observatory. Macias says he gladly would have taken over the spot even without such a popular neighbor but says having a business that will draw droves of people to his satellite is a boon.
“It helps that our landlord is Live Nation and we’ll have all sorts of foot traffic,” says Macias. “To be able to have pre- and post-show drinks at our tasting room will be awesome.”
Rouleur Brewing’s satellite tasting room is located at 2899 University Avenue in North Park