One of San Francisco’s fastest-growing and highest-profile craft breweries just made its latest expansion. Fort Point Beer Co. has now opened Fort Point Lower Haight, a restaurant in the space formerly occupied by Black Sands Brewing Co., which Fort Point acquired in 2018. Within two weeks, it expects to open a new location in Oakland, too.
Due to the coronavirus, Fort Point Lower Haight doesn’t look exactly like the team had originally envisioned it — they previously had “bigger ambitions,” including cocktails and creative bar food in line with the menu that chef Eric Ehler created at the Valencia Street location pre-pandemic, said co-founder Justin Catalana.
But under the current circumstances, the team revised that plan to be simpler and COVID-safe: just hot dogs and beer, the same offerings that they’ve always offered at their Ferry Building kiosk, which reopened about four weeks ago. The new taproom has sidewalk seating for 24 customers, with tables wrapping around the corner of Haight and Pierce streets. A standard hot dog with yellow mustard is $6, and more elaborate dogs — like one with summer salsa, “crunchy spice” and mayo — are $8. Vegan dogs are also available.
“We’re hopeful that we can show that there is a good way to operate a restaurant under the current restrictions while continuing to be completely compliant,” said Catalana. “We’re really concerned with restaurants that are not following the rules at all. We’re trying to set a standard.”
By the end of August, Catalana expects they’ll also open the doors at the new Oakland location in Rockridge, which was formerly Trappist Provisions, plus reopen Fort Point Valencia and its original Marin County restaurant, Mill Valley Beerworks. All have space for outdoor seating, and will offer the same menu of hot dogs and beer. (Fort Point’s main brewery, in the Presidio, has never been open to the public.)
Since its founding in 2014, Fort Point has become San Francisco’s most visible craft brewery. (Catalana and his brother, Justin, began brewing beer under the Mill Valley Beerworks brand.) It helped make beer cans cool again, with its colorful, eye-catching, geometric designs becoming a fixture at top restaurants and stores throughout the Bay Area. The company’s growth and innovation seemed to be happening so quickly and successfully that, earlier this year, it looked as if Fort Point might fill the role of Anchor Brewing for a new era of San Francisco.
The rapid taproom expansion was a big part of that, with the openings of Lower Haight and Rockridge slated to come barely a year after the high-profile Valencia opening. But navigating the pandemic has not been easy, Catalana said. Since the shutdown began in March, the company, which depended heavily on beer sales to other restaurants and bars, laid off 140 employees, about half its workforce.
Nevertheless, it has released four new beers in recent months — Sfizio, an Italian pilsner; Strawberry Darling, a Berliner Weisse; Cool, a cold-fermented IPA; and Dipper, a double IPA. While it had initially kept alive the Black Sands brand after purchasing that brewery, Catalana said they’ve now retired it. “A lot of what is working well for Fort Point right now is staying really focused and not doing too much,” he said.
Rather than looking ahead to what they might be able to do with the taprooms once restrictions ease and life returns to normal, Catalana said they’re choosing to focus on what they can do with the present.
“We have a smaller staff, we’re streamlined, but with the hot dogs we’re still able to offer a bona fide food menu,” he said. “It’s important to remember that the restaurant industry has always been difficult. But we’re excited that we can still offer hospitality and an enjoyable dining experience under these restrictions.”
Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicle’s wine critic. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob
More Information
Fort Point Lower Haight: 701 Haight St., San Francisco. 12-8 p.m. Wed.-Sun., www.fortpointbeer.com
August 01, 2020 at 05:33AM
https://ift.tt/3foLLja
Fort Point expands growing beer empire with new Lower Haight restaurant, now open - San Francisco Chronicle
https://ift.tt/2NyjRFM
Beer
No comments:
Post a Comment