Rosie and Josh Hanson did that thing you’ve always dreamed of doing: With the real-estate market going crazy and a Delray Beach starter home not big enough for them and a new baby, they sold it in 2021 and turned the equity into a new life.
In their case, it’s the Garden District Taproom in West Palm Beach, which will have its formal grand opening this weekend.
A producer-editor at Bally Sports Florida in Fort Lauderdale, Josh was born in Jamaica and moved to South Florida as an infant. He grew up in Pembroke Pines and Loxahatchee, and earned a master’s degree studying film and entertainment at Full Sail University in Orlando.
Rosie, a Gainesville native and University of Florida graduate, was a teacher (in elementary schools from Oakland Park and Pompano Beach to Lake Worth) and a new mother when the pandemic encouraged her to think about what comes next.
“The mixture of having a kid and not wanting to go back because of COVID, I kind of took time off. And we created this opportunity,” she says, acknowledging the good fortune of being able to move into her in-laws’ guest house in Loxahatchee.
The Garden District Taproom, at the busy downtown corner of Quadrille Boulevard and Fern Street, has a distinctive feel — its bright sunniness, 18-foot ceilings and tropical palette is not the dark, industrial space you might expect from the word “taproom.” It also has a large, pet-friendly terrace.
“This definitely leans a bit more feminine. I definitely had a hand in the design,” Rosie says. “We’ve had comments from women coming in [during last weekend’s soft opening]. They’ll say, ‘I love that it’s not all dark and dingy. I want to go out and drink beer, too, but I want to do it someplace pretty.'”
The most distinctive, possibly more attractive, element of the Garden District Taproom is that it is a self-pour bar. The Hansons first became enamored with the technology at bars in the Tampa area, when they lived there, as well as during visits to Delray Beach beer hall Hopportunities.
How it works: Check in, link a credit card to a wristband, and get a glass. Flash your wristband over the reader located above each tap and pull the tap to dispense as much as you want. When you check out, your card will be charged for the number of ounces you dispensed.
The best thing about this model is that you’re free to test drive many small servings of a variety of beers to see what you like. Drive carefully: Someone we know (ahem) managed to try so many “small servings” at a Bradenton establishment that his wristband reached its limit and shut down. Reactivating it required a slightly awkward conversation.
“It comes with a default of 32 ounces. But we want to see how that works out,” Rosie says. “We have toyed with the idea of increasing it — two pints of beer is a lot for some people, but for others it’s not a lot at all.
“It’s super easy to reload. You just have to find somebody, and they just tap your wristband and you’ve got 32 more ounces.”
The other appealing thing about this self-pour gimmick is that it’s interactive and social. Pools of conversation happen between strangers as they stand around mulling their options in front of the taps. Garden District Taproom will offer 19 beers, three wines, hard seltzer, hard cider and hard kombucha.
“People love to talk about it, and so do I,” Rosie says.
Grand-opening festivities at Garden District Taproom are planned all weekend, with music, food and giveaways from 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday. Going forward the taproom will be open Wednesdays through Sundays through April, and in May expand to Tuesdays through Sundays.
Weekend highlights include a drop-in from Yeasty Brews Artisanal Beers in Lauderhill on Friday to tap a collaborative beer called Garden Party, an imperial blond ale flavored with tropical fruit and Jamaican sorrel as a nod to Josh’s roots. At 5 p.m., there will be Burmese food by Boca Raton chef May Aungthet, who will return with more food on Saturday. Sunday’s menu will be Lebanese food from Tasha’s Table in Delray Beach.
For more information, visit GardenDistrictWPB.com and Instagram.com/gardendistrictwpb.
FRIDAY
Dream State of mind: Fort Lauderdale‘s new Dream State Brewing is ready to formally unveil its permanent brewhouse at Sistrunk Marketplace & Brewery this weekend. The grand opening celebration running through Sunday will offer tastings, tours, giveaways, raffles and drink specials. The brewery, which has been making beer offsite for the past several months, is sliding into the facility inside Sistrunk Marketplace that once home to Khoffner Brewery. Dream State will have 16 of its own brews available this weekend, along with more than 20 beers from other breweries, including locals such as Orchestrated Minds, Invasive Species, Tarpon River, Gulf Stream, Brewlihan and Tripping Animals. Sistrunk Marketplace has always been a good space to kick back with a fresh beer. Nice to see that restored. Visit Instagram.com/dreamstatebrewing.
Here’s the beef: Palm Beach Meats in West Palm Beach will celebrate elite Japanese Wagyu beef — including super inaccessible Kobe — during Wagyufest, taking place Friday through Sunday. The weekend features two eight-course Wagyu dinners by chef Emerson Frisbie (Clandestine Culinary, Swank Specialty Produce) at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets cost $325 (Saturday is a sellout). Chef Takeshi Kamioka (Kaminari Ramen) will create an all-Wagyu menu available from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, when you’ll also find live music and free Wagyu samples. Same vibe from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, when chef Jay Rok from popular pop-up Eat BMC and chef Renata Ferraro of Flour & Weirdoughs will collaborate on Wagyu croissant smashburgers, while Civil Society Brewing Co. showcases a new beer, Hoop Dreams. Palm Beach Meats’ Sunday Supper at 5:30 p.m. will feature a Wagyu-inspired menu from Miami’s Yakitori Boyz. Tickets cost $150. Visit PalmBeachMeats.com.
Spell-bound: Small Wine Shop in Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village on Friday at 8 p.m. will host another Buzzed Bee, the wine-enabled (disabled?) spelling bee led by Nick Khan (who you’ve seen behind the bar at Fort Lauderdale’s Orchestrated Minds Brewing and behind the trivia at 3 Sons Brewing in Dania Beach). To recap: You pay $15 for your entry wine, which you drink before spelling your word. Spell it correctly and your glass is refilled and you get in line for another turn. Spell it wrong and … you just had a nice glass of wine, so who cares? Visit SmallWineShop.com.
Hot Tin Roof: As you may have heard, the Fort Lauderdale Tin Roof opened recently in the former Township space at Andrews Avenue and Las Olas. The Delray Beach Tin Roof is home to a steady stream of likable country singers that sets it apart from most restaurant-bars around here (see Nashville’s Reid Haughton at 8 p.m. Friday). Hard to say if the Fort Lauderdale branch will follow suit, but they do have singer Cody Clark queued up at 10:30 p.m. Friday. He’s Nashville-based, checks the beard-and-ballcap box and released a single in January, “Crazy About You,” that is straight country. But his YouTube channel also offers a song called “Living Hell” that is fairly amazing in a Foo Fighters kind of way. I’m optimistic. Visit TinRoofFortLauderdale.com.
Weekend laughs: Comedian, impressionist and former “Saturday Night Live” actor Jay Pharoah performs at the Dania Improv at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $27+ at DaniaImprov.com. … Meanwhile, former “SNL” writer and Emmy nominee Nimesh Patel is at the Palm Beach Improv for shows at 7 and 9:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $30+ at PalmBeachImprov.com.
Big shots: On the tribute band beat, Mizner Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton will offer an homage to one-time tour mates Elton John and Billy Joel on Friday. The 7 p.m. performances — by Melbourne-based Greggie and The Jets and Billy Joel tribute Turnstiles, from Boynton Beach’s Tony Monaco — will be accompanied by several full bars and gourmet food trucks. On Saturday, they’ll do it all again with hits from 13-piece band Music of Motown. Gates open at 5 p.m. each day. Tickets start at $80+. Visit MiznerAmp.com. Nostalgic Magazine is offering half-price tickets with the password HALF at NostalgicMusic.net.
SATURDAY
Orchestral ambassadors: A collaboration with pop-rock band X Ambassadors and a suite that leans on the music of Fleetwood Mac are among the highlights of a concert by adventurous Miami orchestra Nu Deco Ensemble at 8 p.m. Saturday at the beautiful Miami Beach Bandshell. The program also will include Pulitzer Prize-winning “Chamber Symphony: III. Roadrunner” by John Adams; the powerful Sarah Kirkland Snider song cycle “Penelope” featuring Miami mezzo-soprano Amanda Crider; and an original composition from the ensemble. Tickets start at $60+ at Nu-Deco.org.
Saturday shopping: Indie Craft Bazaar returns to the Revolution Live complex in downtown Fort Lauderdale from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, with more than 85 local artists, designers and makers, food and drink, giveaways and the signature $5 mimosas. Admission to the all-ages gathering is free. Visit Facebook.com/indiecraftbazaar.
SUNDAY
You cannot be serious: John McEnroe playing pickleball? The stage at Hard Rock Live, which has hosted everyone from Springsteen and Metallica to Elton John and Maroon 5, will be the setting on Sunday for Pickleball Slam, featuring the mercurial McEnroe and other all-time tennis greats, Boca Raton’s Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi and Michael Chang. The matches, beginning at noon, have a $1 million purse at stake. Tickets start at $46+ at MyHRL.com.
LOOKING AHEAD
Unstacking the ‘Deck’: Capt. Lee Rosbach, Fort Lauderdale yacht captain and star of the Bravo reality-TV hit “Below Deck” since its debut a decade ago, is bringing the one-man show “Nightcap: An Intimate Evening With Captain Lee” to DAER nightclub at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood on April 6. The captain, who is not part of the crew on Season 11 of “Below Deck,” much to his frustration, will offer a no-holds-barred evening of Q&A and storytelling about his time on the show and beyond. There may be cocktails. Prices start at $100 at Eventbrite.com (search “Captain Lee”).
Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and Twitter @BenCrandell.
![Royal Caribbean and the government of the Bahamas broke ground Monday on the joint venture to develop a strip of land in the cruise port of Nassau called Paradise Island. The government in 2023 gave the OK for the cruise line to develop a 17-acre portion into what will be called Royal Beach Club Paradise […]](https://www.sun-sentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1713537733_Paradise-Render-Edited-KK.jpg?w=615 "Royal Caribbean and the government of the Bahamas broke ground Monday on the joint venture to develop a strip of land in the cruise port of Nassau called Paradise Island. The government in 2023 gave the OK for the cruise line to develop a 17-acre portion into what will be called Royal Beach Club Paradise […]")
