House of Lager鈥攊t鈥檚 the name on everyone鈥檚 lips as the restaurant and brewery gets closer to opening this spring.
Born under the House of Funk Brewing brand, which also features a micro-batch brewery and specialty coffee roastery in North Vancouver, House of Lager will be the first business to open at the Oceanfront.
While still in the construction phase, co-founder Stuart Ballard gave The 小蓝视频 a tour of the venue to shed a light on all the good vibes, food and you guessed it鈥攍ager鈥攖hat will be on offer to the public in a few months.
The venue
As the name suggests, House of Lager, also co-founded by Darren Hollett, will be home to a brewery dedicated to making lager鈥攂ut that鈥檚 not all that鈥檚 going on inside.
鈥淚 think people hear House of Lager, and the assumption is it's a brewery, but we're really a restaurant with a brewery in the back,鈥� Ballard said.
鈥淚t's going to be a really broad menu [with the aim of] trying to fill the gap of what we feel that Squamish needs. It also coincidentally fits into, I think, our favourite way of eating, which is not necessarily that pub grub, but not necessarily like small plate fine dining, either.
鈥淪o, something that's really well executed, elevated and fills the casual comfort food gap, without necessarily being your burger and chicken wings.鈥�
As you walk into the venue, the bar will be on the left-hand side of the building, showcasing their house-made beer.
鈥淯nlike some of the great breweries around, we're going to do two taps and two taps only, so we're going to have nothing but lager on draft, and it's just going to be a house lager and seasonal lager,鈥� Ballard said.
鈥淲hat we're most excited to showcase is that lagers have become more of a trend again, in the craft beer side, at least.
鈥淲e are really a restaurant first but the other nod to the brewery, or at least to the style of us being very lager forward, is we will have some serving vessels above the bar.
鈥淪o there's going to be copper clad tanks that hold 1,000 litres each, and our beer will sit in those to help it lager. Then it will come down through a copper conduit into the bar. That will effectively be the showpiece of the beer on tap.鈥�
Fun fact, the name lager comes from the method of lagering beer for a period of time to develop the flavours, Ballard explained.
Not a fan of lager? No problem. House of Lager will also offer a range of other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
鈥淎s much as we're like 鈥楨veryone loves a lager鈥� people want something different as well. So while that seasonal lager will hit some of those points, we were not blinded to the fact that people drink a full spectrum of beers.
鈥淎nd hence, yes, we will have a rotating selection of products. It will be in a package format that we will crack and pour into a glass.鈥�
Ballard said that they will highlight local breweries such as Backcountry Brewing and A-FRAME Brewing as well as other Vancouver-based companies.
鈥淲e'll also have half a dozen whites and reds available, some ros茅s and bubbles, a full hard bar, cocktail menu and cider.鈥�
The seating layout will be similar to that of a classic European beer hall, with a communal long-table as the centrepiece and smaller seating options on the perimeter as well as on the patio.
鈥淪o you're coming in, you're sitting next to someone that you've never met before, and you're getting comfy,鈥� he said of the communal table.
Whether seated on the patio, inside, or upstairs in the event area, patrons are guaranteed to have a postcard worthy view with Shannon Falls, Howe Sound and Sp鈥檃kw鈥檜s Feather Park all on show.
To-go area
As well as being a restaurant and brewery, House of Lager will have a small to-go area on the Howe Sound side of the building, offering coffees and snacks.
鈥淥bviously, we want to have people coming in and sitting down enjoying a stein, enjoying a glass of wine, a cocktail, and our kitchen offering, but we're also in the park on the oceanfront and there will be passing traffic.
鈥淪o, we're also going to be able to facilitate coffees to go with our sister brand, House of Funk.鈥�
Event space
Up the stairs is the venue鈥檚 event space, which Ballard says can be used for a number of different purposes.
鈥淚 don't think Squamish has very many really great event spaces. So the nice thing for us is that, come Christmas time, we can book out a group up here, but not interfere with our day-to-day operations,鈥� he said.
鈥淸We can host] birthday parties, group bookings, business dinners or whatever kind of event that they're kind of looking for. I mean, it's a great place to do yoga and then have a beer after, things like that.
鈥淚 think that we're going to have a whole range of different formats of events that come through here. I can picture a live band in the corner and being almost like a music venue at times as well.鈥�
Ballard says the venue has been booked already for a few weddings later this year, including his own.
鈥淚'm getting married here this year. We got engaged about five years ago, so it was almost like I was waiting to own my own restaurant to actually host it,鈥� he said with a laugh.
The next steps
After a few hurdles鈥攁s a result of building delays鈥擧ouse of Lager is anticipated to open this spring.
鈥淲e're obviously super excited. We know this is going to be a gem, I think our designers have done a great job, the construction team has done a great job. We landed on gold with the location. So now it's all about us being able to really execute it, live up to the expectations and anticipation of Squamish, and hopefully, kind of establish ourselves as the go to spot here,鈥� Ballard said.
When asked how the community has responded to their impending opening, Ballard said people have been 鈥渢he best.鈥�
鈥淕enuinely, the interactions we've had with the community, that is the best of it. Squamish people love to take care of their own and they love to support local businesses and I think hence, everyone's thrilled and stoked for us to open,鈥� he said.
鈥淏ut, I think that people see us as a brand that is going to be very community integrated and hopefully be a part of Squamish for years to come.鈥�
To learn more about House of Lager, visit their , or check out their for updates.
