The brew boom of the PNW doesn’t seem like it’s going to slow down anytime soon. Washington and Oregon have many great breweries and micro-breweries, and while Tacoma has a few it’s the taprooms that really have it dialed in around here. You’ve got your speciality ones, your traditional settings and now we have our first futuristic experience. The Living Taproom was designed with several seating experiences in mind. Upon entering the space you’re in the living room, it’s standard, a couch facing two chairs, a table and rug in between and plants framing it all. Walk past the living room and the space opens up, there’s high tables for standing, tall chairs for bar seating, group size tables with chairs, couple sized tables with chairs, a swing set seating area that’s a main attraction and outdoor seating with furnaces and a fire pit. The owners did their job with the decor, the drinking and the pouring that’s all on the patron.
The Living Room is downtown Tacoma’s first self-serve taproom. The technology is fairly simple but it’s still fascinating. You put your card on file like you would at any taprooms and you’re given a wristband. The wristband has tap technology and when pressed against a particular beer tap the lever is then activated and you pour your own pint. The taps track your pour by the ounce so you only are charged for what you drink nothing more nothing less. There is no bartender. There’s usually only one employee and their job is to collect used glasses, run them through the dishwasher and make sure the glasses shelves are fully stocked for customers. It’s an engaging experience and one that fits in well with the rest of the ‘Brewery Blocks’ early staples. You might be lucky enough to catch the owner Colin making the rounds scooping up empty pints but probably not for long, this business model has a lot of potential for additional locations.
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