And we’ve got more than that on the walls. The Tap is aiming for the world record for taps in a single restaurant. Grain Belt stacks three diamonds a woodpecker waits for unattended cheese curds from Woodpecker Hard Cider. Almost every inch of available wall space is marked by the elegant oak handle of Chestnut Hill Brewing or the prickly pine of Alaskan Ale. The front room displays four rows of taps on each wall, and the rows on the eastern wall then extend over the bar toward the back area. The taps are Hassell’s personal project, originating from an overflowing cabinet of tap handles and the purchase of a private collection. The hanging taps bear no relationship to the naming of the business, but certainly promote a consistent image and feel. We have families that come in for dinner and the college students that come in later at night.” There was a different bartender every night. And there were always college students working here. “I was in high school when I started coming here. Thomas-optimizing the impact of the college dollar on its bottom line. Conveniently, the Tap is located within walking distance of three college campuses-Macalester, St. The happy hour ends at 12 a.m., a popular time for students. So everybody can go somewhere else for last call.”
And that’s part of the reason we don’t close at two. He attributes it to “sheer luck, I think. He is impressed with the success of the Tap. Challenges are balancing that, since we are in a neighborhood, and we want to make the neighbors happy,” Hassell said. “And then switching over from the 3.2 to strong beer and becoming a craft beer destination. The evolution of the Tap revolves around this transformation. It became more of the neighborhood, family place,” Hassell said. There would be a little dinner and then that was it.
“Transforming from the 3.2 beer bar, when it was BB Dixons, there would be like five people in here.
Groveland tap full#
In Saint Paul there are three licenses: 3.2 beer malt beverages (3.2 percent alcohol), strong beer and wine and full liquor. Ten years ago the bar transitioned from a 3.2 bar to what it is now. “They were everywhere,” Hassell remarked, and only served 3.2 beer. A former bar on Saint Clair and Snelling now houses a karate and dance studio.
Many other former bars have been converted.
“The started off as a 3.2 beer bar, and back then every neighborhood, every couple blocks you’d find a little neighborhood 3.2 beer bar,” Hassell said. The infamous “Juicy Lucy” burger was first introduced in the 1990s, under the restaurant name “BB Dixons.” The Blue Plate Management Company bought the space in 1998, changed the name to “Groveland Tap.” After a small electrical fire closed the pub that same year, the entire establishment was renovated, reconceived and transformed to what it is today. Identities such as “Fairview Palms” and “The King and I” at one point graced the front façade. The Tap has been a neighborhood staple since the 1930s, undergoing various ownership and name changes along the way. Our conversation ranged from the Tap’s sourcing of beer to its relationship with college students, the taps on the wall and St. I wanted to better understand the pub’s operational and community components. Last Thursday I sat down with Craig Hassell, General Manager of the Groveland Tap.
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