Considering the ongoing pandemic and the accompanying restrictions and precautions, small businesses pretty much everywhere are struggling, and it’s up to all of us to do our part to support them. So today, I went on a short outing to a local hangout.
Romero’s K9 Club and Tap House opened in my town a few short years ago, owned and operated by a lovely young couple, Lenny and Maria. They combined their love of beer and their love of dogs into a small business, converting a former Sonic drive-in burger location into a combination taproom and dog park. Romero’s is named after one of their pooches, who has sadly since passed on. We are doomed to outlive our pets.
This is one of my favorite spots around simply for the dog park aspect. I am a huge dog fiend; if I had my way, I would pet every dog that crosses my path. Having a local spot to go to (Before the dark times. Before the pandemic) where people bring their pooches and set them loose in an enclosed space so they can run up to me and receive skritches? Heaven! Having a tasty beer at hand is a bonus.
Romero’s always has an amazing selection of offerings on tap; far wider-ranging and better quality than most, in my opinion. Today was no exception and I struggled briefly to make a choice.
I ended up going with a pour of Jolly Pumpkin’s Bam Biére, a farmhouse ale coming in at 4.5% ABV. Now, I’ll be the first to admit I don’t have the most sophisticated palate, and I’m certainly not an experienced beer reviewer/writer. But I know what I like, and I like this beer. It’s certainly true to the style.
Last year, the crew at Romero’s set their eyes on a small expansion to the taproom, in the form of a food trailer – The Waggin’ – serving up grilled cheese sandwiches and some other offerings. This option was one of the draws for me today, and I purposefully put off lunch until they opened at 2pm! They crank out wonderful sandwiches – mine was so stuffed with cheeses that it was threatening to ooze its way out onto the paper wrapper.