Why so many events?
Jonathan Pascual
Way back when Taproom was barely an idea, I already envisioned it as a gathering place. It wasn't really all about the coffee. Or the beer. It was about connecting people. I would close my eyes and could picture crowds of people on a regular basis, filling the space and building into a sense of community. So it's no surprise that now that Taproom's a reality, my favorite times are when we have events.
Many people comment on our frequency of events, or ask how we go about choosing what kind of activity or event to host. If you really want to know, here's the inside scoop: I'm up for anything. Really. I actually sometimes just walk up to my baristas and say, "What's some random event you'd like to have?" I asked just that a couple months ago, and Matt said - half jokingly - "We should have an ugly holiday sweater contest." So we did. It turned into the Not-so-Silent Night: Christmas Karaoke and Ugly Sweater Contest, which doubled as a release party for Mother Earth Silent Night beer. Crazy fun!
We've also ended up doing a lot of coffee and beer education. The goal there is not primarily to get super geeky (although super geekiness is not discouraged) nor is it to show that you have to be an expert or highly-educated aficionado to enjoy those things. The purpose is instead to simply have fun while learning about something with some new friends. We recently had a Brew & Brew event where we taught some of our neighbors in Kirkwood how to pull better shots on their home espresso machines. What was the best result from that event? Not the assurance that they're now achieving better espresso extraction, but rather the fun conversations we've had with those neighbors since. We got to have a shared experience through the event, and those friendships and connections - even across the counter - are better for it.
So if you go to our event page, at any given time there's a long list of upcoming events. Some involve coffee. Some involve beer. Some involve board games or local art. All of them serve to connect people. Come join us sometime.