Story Originally Published Through Morning Call
Business is booming at a year-old brewery in Coopersburg.
Sage Alley Brewery & Grille, which celebrated its first anniversary in June at 213 N. Main St., has quickly become a hot spot for Lehigh Valley beer buffs looking to savor craft brews such as Cattle Drive Milk Stout and Freyburg IPA, as well as foodies looking to enjoy freshly prepared dishes such as bacon and scallop pizza and beer-battered fish and chips.
The brewery, with 58 seats inside and about 60 more on an outdoor patio, often is jam-packed on the weekends, forcing some fans to find another watering hole, co-founder Russell Armstrong said.
“The popularity of Sage Alley has grown to the point where on many Friday and Saturday nights, there are just no more seats available for people,” said Armstrong, who operates the brewery with his girlfriend, Heather Lloyd.
[Above] Sage Alley Brewery & Grille co-owners Russell Armstrong and Heather Lloyd show off beer offerings and a popular food item, zucchini chips, at the Coopersburg brewery last year. Sage Alley’s growing customer base along with Armstrong and Lloyd’s desire to offer live music and better accommodate private parties has led to a forthcoming second taproom a few doors down from the original location. (Credit: APRIL GAMIZ / THE MORNING CALL)
Sage Alley’s growing customer base along with Armstrong and Lloyd’s desire to offer live music and better accommodate private parties has led the couple to expand the operation to include a forthcoming taproom a few doors down from Sage Alley’s original spot in the borough.
The additional venue, at 201 N. Main St., is set to open in mid-October, Armstrong said. “People will be able come to the brewery, grab a bite to eat and then walk 100 feet away to listen to live music and have another beer or two,” Armstrong added.
The new taproom will accommodate around 80 customers and will feature 12 taps showcasing Sage Alley’s staple beers such as Cooper’s Citrus Wit and Wise Crack IPA along with rotating and seasonal selections such as Sage Alley Summer Shandy, Blueberry Lager, Monk Juice and Pumpkin Spice Ale.
Customers also will be able to enjoy charcuterie plates prepared on site along with wine from Black River Farms in Lower Saucon Township and Bishop Estate Vineyard & Winery in Hilltown Township, Bucks County.
The taproom will be called The Corner Taproom at Sage Alley Brewing due to its location at the corner of North Main and East Landis streets.
“We have enough room in the back that we could put a full kitchen in, but for right now, we’re setting it up mostly for our charcuterie,” Armstrong said. “So, we’ll have slicers, refrigerators, tables and a warming oven for caterers.”
The taproom will occupy a bi-level space, which was renovated to include new ceiling tiles, shiplap walls, a service bar, French oak hardwood flooring on the lower level and a carpeted “loungey area” with a fireplace on the upper level, Armstrong said.
It will occupy space that previously housed Critter Corral, a shop offering natural pet food, grooming and more, which Lloyd operated for about 20 years before selling the business 2.5 years ago.
“The building’s been sitting empty,” Armstrong said. “We were using the parking lot for Sage Alley, but we were trying to figure out what to do with the building.”
In addition to providing more space for customers, the decision to open an additional Sage Alley taproom at the corner property also was fueled by an increasing demand for private parties.
The brewery’s back patio, which is enclosed with all-weather vinyl material and heated during the winter, has been a popular gathering place for area teachers, business executives and other groups, Armstrong said.
“We’ve grown so much that we need that space under the tent just for our regular daily traffic,” Armstrong explained. “The Corner Taproom will give us a great opportunity to cater to people who want to have parties and they’ll still get to drink Sage Alley beer.”
Sage Alley, named after the alley behind the building, is as much a dining destination as it is a brewery.
Chefs inside a food trailer parked on the patio prepare a wide array of dishes, including build-your-own burgers, chicken wings, crab cake sandwiches, quesadillas and taco salads.
“We wanted to have food available all the time and also have a consistent menu,” Armstrong said. “A lot of times, if you’re traveling to a brewery, you’re sort of at the mercy of whatever food truck is on-site. If the food that they produce isn’t what you like, you’re basically out of luck and may end up going somewhere else.”
At their new location, Armstrong and Lloyd also are looking forward to offering live music, something they aren’t able to do at their original location. They plan to host mostly acoustic acts that won’t drown out your conversation.
“The Liquor Control Board’s noise ordinances say that any amplified music cannot be heard over your property line,” Armstrong said. “Our patio is such a large feature that if we have any music out there — even from a Bluetooth speaker — we’d be in immediate violation of our Liquor Control Board licensing. And unfortunately, inside the brewery, it’s just too small and confined.”
For people who don’t drink alcohol, beer and wine won’t be the only beverages served at the former Critter Corral location.
Diana Hall-Yurasits, owner of Diana’s Cafe, a popular breakfast and lunch eatery that opened in 1998 on Route 309 in Center Valley, plans to open a coffeehouse in a portion of the lower level, Armstrong said.
The shop will offer specialty coffee beverages along with grab-and-go food items, he said.
The space’s two levels can be separated by a sliding door, so luncheons and other daytime events could be held while the shop is open.
Hours are still being finalized for The Corner at Sage Alley Brewery, but Armstrong said the tentative hours are 6-9 p.m. Wednesdays and 6-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Customers should monitor the business’ social media pages for updates.
Sage Alley’s original location is open 3-9 p.m. Thursdays, 3-10 p.m. Fridays, 1-10 p.m. Saturdays and 2-7 p.m. Sundays.
“This expansion is really exciting for us,” Armstrong said. “We finished our first year in June and it’s been phenomenal. The relationships that we’ve formed and the customer base that we have is really incredible. It’s especially awesome to see so many people on the patio, pulling tables together. Nobody’s on their cell phone, except maybe on a Sunday afternoon to check football scores. It’s really turned into everything we hoped it would be.”
