The Tap Exchange's Blog

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tapexchange — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:03:14 +0000

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the gang’s all here

tapexchange — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:28:12 +0000

“Hail, hail, the gang’s all here
leave your worries at the door, boy,
for they’re not going anywhere

hail, hail, the gang’s all here
when the going gets tough
I know my friends will still be there” – Dropkick Murphys

These lyrics embody what we’re trying to achieve at The Tap Exchange: a place where you can press the pause button on the world’s doom & gloom and be amongst friends who are just glad to see you. Bad day at work? Kid’s acting up? Hairdryer blew a fuse? Leave it at the door and c’mon in!

This isn’t about pretending that life’s issues don’t exist; it’s about being able to catch your breath, get some encouragement and then head out to face those issues and give them the “what for”. If we fail to take time to decompress (and I think the media has most of us very compressed) then we run the risk of shutting down and giving up. The Tap Exchange will fight for you! Well, maybe not “fight”, but we will provide you with a warm, safe place to call your own. And no matter what, the Woodchuck of Lore will always be here for you!

we interrupt this blog for a word from mrs. tap exchange

tapexchange — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:23:05 +0000

“Your husband owns a restaurant? How romantic!” Romantic? Really? Lets see, I am apart from the man I love 12-16 hours a day leaving a deep void within me. If I go to the restaurant to see him I inevitably end up bussing tables, running food or washing dishes. Can I just say that washing dishes in a restaurant is NOTHING like washing dishes at home? However, if these acts of service help facilitate the fulfillment of a dream then so be it. It is the pursuit of a dream that brings romanticism – not being the proprietor of a restaurant.

Each day in the life of a proprietor brings a new set of challenges and disappointments – vendors who have the inherent inability to do what they have been hired and paid to do; lack of support pledged from institutions, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Not all of them of course, but enough that it boggles the mind. Regardless, just when you have about lost all faith in humanity it happens. A total stranger walks into the Tap Exchange, loves the experience and then blogs about it; or someone posts the most amazing “tweet” (often with pictures) about what a great time they are currently having in our establishment. That is just amazing to me.

These patrons made a conscious effort to spend their time and money at The Tap Exchange and actually followed through on that decision. What a concept! It was not a veiled attempt at fulfilling a pledge of support due to obligation, but completely unsolicited support. Community, if you will. This not only restores your faith, but reaffirms that you are on the right track. This is, without a doubt, what keeps a proprietor in pursuit of a dream. This is, dare I say, romantic.

From “I’m Gonna” to “I Did”, pt. 3

tapexchange — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:17:03 +0000

What are we really offering at The Tap Exchange? Sure, we have a nice selection of beer and wine and we do have some pretty good food, too. We have local art on the walls and will soon have local musicians in the corner. You can always catch a game or other sporting event, as well. But is that what we really offer? No.

I believe what The Tap Exchange really offers is community. One of Webster’s definitions is “an interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location.” That’s us! Daily I am privy to conversations between strangers that develop into conversations between friends. It’s a thrill to see new friendships being forged around something they share in common: life experiences, careers, sports teams or simply just enjoying the same beer.

We are blessed to already have a large number of “regulars” who have embraced The Tap Exchange as “their place”. I’ll never tire of starting to pour their favorite beer before they even sit down. When they walk through the door of the pub it’s as if they just walked through the door at my house. Community: that’s what is offered at The Tap Exchange.

And on a serious note: two guys walk into a bar; the third guy ducks.

from “I’m gonna” to “I did”, pt. 2

tapexchange — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:17:55 +0000

Triumph and tragedy. Success and failure. Accolades and rebukes. Pats on the back and punches to the gut. All thematic concepts that define our lives; all bona fide realities that define my days. Is it possible to truly appreciate the thrill of victory without experiencing the agony of defeat? Let that bounce your cerebral cortex. It seems that I can reach the highest of highs and the lowest of lows all before lunch on any given day. My collegiate philosophy professor posed the question: “how can you know the fulfillment of one extreme until you’ve experienced the fulfillment of the opposite extreme?” Think about that for a moment: can you truly know what pleasure is if you’ve never experienced pain?

Restaurant life is chock full of romanticism and idealism; and for good reason. The notion of being the proprietor of the “place to be” is hard to shake. Who amongst us doesn’t want to be like Sam Malone of Cheers, heralded as the focal point of people’s delight? My chest puffs and my smile lengthens when people tell me how much they enjoy coming to The Tap Exchange; I will never deny that. But then there are times when I hear somebody tell me how disappointed they are in their visit to the pub. No chest puffing now; only a sour burn deep in my gut because, for whatever reason, I have failed them. I take this very personal; and I’m not yet sure if that’s a good thing.

Being a restaurateur is not for the faint of heart. As my contemporaries will attest, it takes some big cajones to endure this lifestyle. I don’t say that flippantly or as a badge of honor; it’s just truth. Sometimes it seems we are driven to chase that which doesn’t want to be caught. It is that pursuit that gets me out of bed every day, and I would not trade it for any other objective.

From “I’m gonna” to “I did” pt. 1

tapexchange — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:50:39 +0000

Most everybody I’ve ever known had some type of ”someday, I’m gonna” dream. We’ve all uttered those words regarding something that we believed was our calling, purpose or reason for being. Unfortunately, most have never gotten past the “someday” part of the equation. For those of us who have pushed past the wishing part, we quickly understood that merely wanting something to happen wasn’t going to make it happen. We also quickly understood that the undertaking was far bigger than we ever planned for: money, time, expertise, skill – no matter how much you have of each, it’s not enough.

I have never uttered the phrase, “someday, I’m gonna blog about my experience opening a multi-tap alehouse & grill” but here I am attempting to divulge the good, the bad and the nauseating about putting everything on the line in the pursuit of a dream. I never planned to link prepositional phrases in such a way, either, but yet it still happened.

There are some things in life that you just can’t know how they’ll turn out until you actually do them. Sort of like when I took my wife skydiving for her birthday. You can theorize all day long about what lies ahead, but that all changes once you willingly step through the airplane’s doorway. Same with opening a restaurant: you plan what’s going to happen; you hope what you planned actually happens; and then you step through the doorway hoping you remembered to include a functional parachute in that plan.