Rebecca Safford quietly opened the doors of Tap & Bottle North this week, after six months of preparations. The space has been transformed from its previous life as a northside Computer Renaissance, and now sports the same fresh industrial look as the original beer bar.
"We tried to bring the things we love and what we know works from downtown," she said. When they took over the space on Feb. 1, Rebecca and her husband Scott totally redid the place, exposing the ceilings and concrete floors, adding a private event room and putting in sliding garage doors for patio bar access.
The new spot at 7254 N. Oracle Road has a spacious clean vibe and 12 extra taps, bringing the rotating list up to 29 beers, eight wines and one cold-brew coffee. (It's from Exo, by the way.) Now that they have more options, Rebecca wants to reserve one tap for hard ciders. Right now they're doing the highest-rated cider in the world, Blueberry Spaceship Box from Prescott's Superstition Meadery.
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The space is also heavier on the games, with giant Connect Four and Jenga blocks, a chalkboard area for kids and a bean-bag toss on the patio. The new space also has flatscreen TV's which Rebecca tried to keep "kinda hidden." They'll be kept at low volume unless there's a big game on.
"99 bottles of beer on the wall ..."
The bottle shop is about the same size as the original location, with hard-to-find craft beers and wines from Arizona and abroad. There's also shirts and merchandise, including packaged coffee beans from Modern Times in San Diego.
The new space will host various beer events with brewmasters, etc. But the jury's out for whether there will be live music like the original space.
Next up, the Saffords plan to open a shipping container bar called Westbound, inside the new MSA Annex at the Mercado San Agustin. The Star reported in April that the MSA Annex will feature a variety of shops and restaurants built from repurposed shipping containers. Westbound will serve local beer, wine and craft cocktails for patrons to drink in the shared patio area. This is slated for December.
Tap & Bottle North, (520) 268-8725, will hold its grand opening Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight. The bar will open at 11 a.m. every day and close at 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and 8 p.m. on Sundays.
