In the second in our series on taprooms, we speak with design studios and taproom owners on how best to merging architectural psychology with sales data to maximise your physical footprint.
In the first article on taprooms we looked at how to utilise technology as part of your proposition. Here we learn from design studios on the importance of layout and placement when it comes to creating a taproom space that works for you, and your customer.
“Taprooms have come a long way from the days when they were just a functional corner of a brewery where you could grab a pint. There’s massive potential to make them a real heart of the operation, a place for community, discovery and connection to the brand, explains Amanda Cook, the founder of Design Tonic.
Start with the flow (not the furniture)
People are naturally drawn to follow the brightest path, so never overlook the power of lighting for directing movement around a space,” she explains. “Marking out your bar, key features and the routes between them with thoughtful lighting helps people feel oriented and at ease from their very first visit.”
And in Bristol, Will Wright, director of venue operations at Left Handed Giant knows that first impressions count. When it comes to the company’s popular brewpub on Finzels Reach he says that starts before you reach the bar.
“Large glass windows look straight onto the fermenters, the mash tun and the serving vessels, so you can see how closely your beer has been brewed to you. You’re drinking it right from the source, and you’re part of the brewing picture from the moment you walk in,” he explains.
Then there’s the bar itself. The team don’t put fonts on display while the taps sit underneath the bar, still between the bartender and the customer but below the bar level, so nothing gets in the way of eye contact or conversation.
“Nobody has to turn their back to pour, as they would with taps on a back bar, so the conversation carries on while they pour a taster or talk through the beers,” says Wright.
Your bar as a centre of gravity
Design Tonic’s cook adds to this. “Obviously your bar is the natural centre of gravity, and where you place it shapes the entire room so it needs to be visible on arrival and easy to approach from multiple directions, with enough space in front for people to queue, order and linger without creating a bottleneck,” she explains.
“But one of the biggest missed opportunities in taproom design is not making a feature of the brewery itself, because that’s what makes your taproom unique in the first place – your customers are coming for beer with a story and a sense of place.”
Stefan Melbourne is the events and creative manager at Track Brewing Co. In designing their in-demand Manchester taproom, an immersive space was key. “What we actually wanted was for it to feel immersive, like walking into what we are as a brewery, as a brand, not just a room with beer in it,” he recalls.
Working with a flexible attitude
In working with Gareth Batowski’s On The Brink Studios they created a bespoke space but under financial constraints. “Originally we wanted bespoke furniture. But we ran out of money, so we bought standard German beer benches, which came in a garish orange. We set them all up, and they clashed badly, undercutting all the beautiful work Gareth and the team had put in. But we were opening, and we had no other options,” he remembers..
“Gareth said there was no way he was letting us open with the benches as they were. He came up with the idea on the spot: buy sheets of walnut, cut them down to size, and cap the orange benches and tables with it. A budget way of building bespoke furniture and it completely changed the feel of the space.”
And when it comes to furniture Jeremy Grove, the CEO and design director at architectural and interior design studio Sibley Grove wants to remind taproom owners that “furniture will get picked up and moved by customers”.
He says: “Design for a mix of some fixed pieces and plenty of genuinely movable seating, not an overly curated, fussy layout. The fixed elements (not necessarily physically fixed) are key to rationalise the space and create clear service and customer routes. In busy venues, use every inch of space. Drinking shelves and poseur-height tables let you accommodate more people without needing full seating.”
Make your taproom work for you
Taprooms are also not static entities. For Cook at Design Tonic, it is key to build in flexibility and multiple revenue streams. “Whatever the scale of your taproom, designing for more than one use is what makes a space pay,” she argues.
“A physical footprint that serves 40 people on a quiet Tuesday should be able to host an event, a tap takeover, a private hire or a food residency at the weekend, and that sort of flexibility has to be designed in from the start, because it’ s hard to bolt on later.”
She adds that breweries shouldn’t stop at walls, either because outdoor space, where you have it, is far too valuable to treat as just an overflow. “A well-designed terrace, yard or beer garden extends your capacity, opens up warmer-weather trade and often becomes the part of the venue customers love most.
And for Stefan Melbourne at Track Brewing Co, there is much to love with their space. “The process wasn’t linear, it was ideas that evolved and changed as we went on,” he says. “Things got moved, bits got added, but thankfully it came together in a way that far exceeded our expectations. Five years on, we still pinch ourselves that we get to call it home.”
