Got Beer?

If we had a $1, wait, if we actually had $6 for every one of those questions ... Since our last posting, it might as well have been about a year that has blown by us. We've submitted the last of our applications: PA agriculture to manufacture beer, health department and PA state brewpub. We've had all our inspections and passed each and every one of them. We became licensed as a restaurant. We've spent thousands of dollars, completed and stocked the interior of the brewery. Our days, weeks, months have been pretty exhausting to bring us to this point. And while there have been a few points that in exhaustion, we thought "we'll never make it,"  the support from our ever-growing fan base has helped carry us through. Okay, desperation is also a good motivator! , We've had several people contact us and say "I want to do this, too. Tell me how." Well folks, its just not that simple. Don't do this alone, have a partner. And if you have a partner, make sure its a rock steady relationship because you are in for some stress. Real stress. Make sure you like ramen noodles, because there's some of that in your future, too. And make sure you're ready to hear opinions. They're like asses. Everyone has them and the ones you don't want to have thrust up on you, well, those are EXACTLY the ones who will. But along the way, you'll also meet some fine folks who will dilute the asses. For Sarah, yesterday was a real low point dealing with them. But at one point, a fan and neighbor wrote on our wall "I'm glad my business is in your neighborhood." Hey, I'm glad you took a moment to write that. Good, positive people should speak up. We have a list of those folks to tell you about, but with little time, we'll only share one in this post. He is perhaps the nicest man we've met in a long time, good, honest and a man of his word. When the Z's first entertained the idea of 12 South Market Street, we weren't so sure how the contractor and building owner, Brian Ebersole, would receive us. Brian has been at points for us the guiding light. His unique head down, tilt to the side and eyes over the bifocals has become a welcome sight in our life. From day one, he has been exceptionally gracious and helpful. He's been with us every step of the way and we are forever thankful. If you ever have the opportunity to meet him, do. After a lot of stress, disappointment, tears, screaming and pushing,(Amos has been a wreck) today we finally received our PA state brewery license. This is tremendous news we've been waiting to hear and share with you all. What that means is we can now legally brew. We can also sell kegs, sixtels and fill growlers. We'll be opening some limited hours for food sales and growler fills and encourage you to PLEASE come in. The food sales and growler fills will be the only thing that keeps the roof over our heads until our PA brewpub license comes through. Our bad news is that some exceptionally unkind neighbor has decided to try to prevent that from happening, likely costing us several months and tens of thousands of dollars until we can open those taps. But we're counting on you, and we know we can. Mixed into this week's chaos was also an order for growlers. Minimum order was 72 of them. Up front. "Can I just fill someone elses growler?" Umm, yes, you can. You can also support our new business, struggling to stay open until a hearing allows our taps to open, and just buy a growler from us and fill it. Ultimately, we just want to see your smiling faces. Okay, and some of your smiling presidents on cash, too. We'll be open for brunch this Sunday. Quiche, bacon, muffins and jam. We make great coffee, too. Come in and see us and pre-order your growler. Your $20 when you purchase breakfast really does help us. And after all these months of rather anonymous following, won't it be nice to share a cup and finally get to meet each other. We thank you, tremendously, from the bottom of our hearts, for being good, open minded, gracious and welcoming folks. The Zucks!