Sledgehammer

Now that we've finally got keys to the brewery, it's time to accelerate getting it in shape. As mentioned last time, the taproom was quite dark and closed in. Among other things, we intend to raise the ceiling, remove the office and cooler that encroached on the taproom and build a brand new bar.

On Saturday, I set off to start demolition. First, I stopped in across the street from the brewery at Texas Pit BBQ to grab lunch to go. As I'd been sharing our intent to launch a brewery in Angier, I'd heard repeatedly that the BBQ place is awesome. Time to give it a try! Once there, I met the two owners, Traci and Tonya. They were super friendly and welcomed us to the neighborhood. With a chopped brisket sandwich and hush puppies in tow, I headed over to the brewery.

What a great lunch! We won't have a kitchen, so we won't be serving our own food. How lucky are we to have such an amazing restaurant within a stone's throw of our taproom! All three bbq sauces were great, though I like the spicy sauce the best.

With lunch demolished, it was time to wield our sledgehammer, affectionately named Lucille.

We made quick work of the office area and could get a sense that we'd be recovering quite a bit of space in the taproom. It seemed we had real momentum... until we encountered the walk-in cooler. Cue the sinister music - Dun Dun Dunnn!!! More than just a walk-in cooler, it could also capably serve as a bomb shelter.

The cooler took the best that Lucille could offer and kept standing. It chewed up and spit out the sharpest of our sawzall blades. But. we. were. relentless.

In the end, it was a fight we were destined to win. Here, Alex enjoys a celebratory beer in a now much larger taproom.

Looks like it's time for a dumpster... We'll demolish the old bar next week when we have another dumpster on site. We'll have concrete getting jackhammered out to accommodate our new trench drains!