I’ve worked in Lansdale for the bulk of my adult life, and have been a resident for the last four years. My history in this town began when I was hired as manager of Town and Country Auto parts in 2004. My job consisted of overseeing the delivery of auto parts all around town, so events like Bike Night, the Under the Lights Car Show, and Lansdale/Founders Days were the bane of my existence. Closed streets and increased traffic would bring operations to a crawl, and the customers were none too pleased to wait an extra 30 minutes for their brake caliper to be delivered.
But even through all the frustrations, I couldn’t help but admire the sense of community that was absent in my Northeast Philadelphia apartment.
In 2009, we saw the launch of the Lansdale Farmers Market, whose humble beginning on Railroad Avenue has morphed into the artisanal juggernaut occupying the Penndale Middle School parking lot every Saturday afternoon. Then, in 2012, we saw the addition of Discover Lansdale.
For the uninitiated, Discover Lansdale consists of group of laser-focused, well intentioned, hardworking citizens. This wonderful organization (full disclosure: I am a member of the First Friday Committee) operates with a single goal of “Promoting Lansdale by connecting business, people, and fun.” We just passed the halfway point of “First Friday Season,” and I have to say they are meeting and exceeding that goal every month. Just wait until they finish the Freight House.
In my current line of work, I have a lot of people who ask if we are concerned about the influx of other breweries in the area. Here is why we are not.
Two Friday’s ago, we received a call that a party bus was en route to Round Guys with 18 people on board. After getting a drink and tacos in everyone’s hands, I started chatting with the woman who had organized the birthday brewery crawl for her husband.
They, as it turned out, own and operate a brewery in Delaware (First State Brewing Company). They were looking for a destination that would allow them to hit multiple stops in short order ,and happened to find our little slice of Pennsylvania. The plan was to hit Well Crafted next, so I called ahead to Nica to give them a heads up that they were on their way, and off they went. Their third stop brought them to McAllister in North Wales, where they met a lovely couple from Phoenixville and told them what an awesome time they had at Round Guys. The couple had never heard of us, but has since stopped in for a pint. The group of lively Delawareans ended their night with a food truck and flights at Ten7.
It’s Working.
We are proud to be a part of the revitalization of this town. We are proud to work with the other businesses around us. We think the wheelie kids should wear helmets and obey traffic laws, and as long as the forthcoming breweries in Lansdale don’t plan on showing Walker Texas Ranger re-runs or 80’s action movies, we say “Welcome to the party, Pal!”
Andrew Carroll is a guest columnist for Round Guys Brewing Company. In addition to serving as the general manager of Round Guys, Carroll is an Eagle Scout and spends his down-time with his wife and daughter.
See also:
Round Guys: Celebrating Our Seven Year Anniversary
Round Guys: The Parallels Between Indie Bands And Brewers
Round Guys: Learning To Unplug
Round Guys: Planning The End Game
Round Guys: Quality Hops In The Craft Brew Meta
