Farmers Market News
Innovative craft beer bar pop-up opens at Dallas Farmers Market
An innovative new bar at the Dallas Farmers Market will open as a kind of permanent craft brewery pop-up, hosting an ever-revolving installation of breweries.
Called The 2nd Tap, it'll take over the former Noble Rey Brewing space at 920 S. Harwood St., #125, and will open in late spring.
The 2nd Tap takes the idea of a tap takeover — in which a bar dedicates a selection of its taps to one brewery — and expands it into a "taproom" takeover, becoming a temporary second home for breweries from around Texas and beyond.
Owners David Herrera and Charles Nelson are craft beer veterans who took their inspiration from location's original role as a second tap room for Noble Rey Brewing Co., the Design District brewery, which closed on April 1.
"We liked the idea of a secondary taproom occupying the space and wanted to keep that, but with some rotation to keep things different over multiple visits," Nelson says. "We'll dedicate all of our taps to one brewery, and also work to offer their merchandise for sale. One of our biggest goals is to showcase the full lineup from hard-working breweries and not just the newest release."
0They'll also offer wine, cider, bloody Marys, mimosas, ginger beer, sodas, kombucha, and other non-beer beverages so that there's something for everyone. At 575 square feet, the space is compact. But one good thing about the Farmers Market is that you can buy a beer and walk around.
Their candidates for breweries include those that are either geographically distant or else do not have a taproom. That likely rules out most Dallas beer makers, since those are nearby.
They've had no trouble finding prospectives — so many that, for their inaugural installation, they decided to open it up to the public with a bracket vote. They started with 64 breweries and narrowed it down to the final two, Manhattan Project Beer Company versus Armadillo Ale Works, with the voting ending on May 24 at 9 pm.
They'll also host special theme takeovers such as bringing a brewery like Blackwater Draw from Bryan/College Station during the A&M/Arkansas football game.
"We're trying to find breweries that have a cool story to tell or a unique identity, and luckily a lot of small breweries do," Nelson says.
