The buzz around town is all about the Half Pint Taproom & Restoration Hall and when they will open. The taproom is located on 817 Ohio Avenue and Cynthia Doten, Denton Keltner, and their other two partners have been hard at work putting it together for their projected opening in early to mid-October. They have made great headway on the over 7000 square foot building that will house two venues-one for patrons that want to enjoy live entertainment and one for those that don’t want to hear it. There will be a pizza oven, a dining area, two bars, a stage, a green room for the bands, an upstairs VIP area and a kitchen. The taproom and the stage will also be handicap accessible.
Their progress includes framing on the bottom and top of the front venue, building a stage in the back venue, framing out both bars, the kitchen and the bathrooms. They will also have 2 outside patios when they open.
“Brian’s Plumbing is doing the plumbing and Marvin Groves is doing the electrical work,” Cynthia said, “We had no luck getting contractors to show up, but we have no complaints about those two companies.” This led to the partners and two family members doing the amazing construction themselves. In fact, Keltner drew up the blueprints. “Denton is the mastermind,” Cynthia said, “We are a very good team. All the partners are from this area and they are good people. We are glad to have chosen them and would not want anyone else. Once the air conditioner goes in we will begin putting up the sheet rock, and then we will be closer to the finished project”.
Half Pint will rotate 36 craft beers on tap, and 4 wines on tap. They will also have craft cocktails, and a huge brick oven for pizza and a menu of appetizers. They are focusing on being lunch crowd friendly with quality food with a minimal wait time. “I am bringing big time guys down here to do top notch pizza,” she said, “They come highly recommended by a man that has 4 restaurants in San Francisco and also has some in Vegas. We will not be a restaurant,” Cynthia stressed, “But we will be a bar with food.”
Cynthia said that their vision is to keep downtown alive and growing. They want their customers to feel like they are in a large city when they come to the Tap Room. “We want a good vibe, and we want people to come in and enjoy themselves. We also plan on supporting our local bands,” she said.
-Cindy Kahler Thomas
