From the Bottom, Up: July 24, 2018
Last weekend, we poured beers at 915 Spring Garden for the first time, and it was amazing to see our home come alive.
A selection of labels. We've been working on a new look, and are excited to share it soon.
We got the chance to share our space and our plans with a handful of supporters who have been with us since day one. With caution tape all around us, and new holes in the floors and walls (yay for progress!), we poured a tripel, stout, and Kyle’s newest IPA, snacked on our favorite pizza, and imagined what Triple Bottom Brewing Company is going to look and feel like when we open our doors. Spoiler: it’s going to be really great. Even with wires popping out of the walls in strange places and giant pieces of construction equipment tucked here and there, this already feels like a place we want to hang out in with you.
Behind the scenes, we continue making slow and steady progress on our zoning. Last week, we dropped off some additional information for the review of our application. We’ve had a pretty good experience with the Department of Licensing and Inspections so far, but dropping our little roll of documents — containing real pieces of our hearts and souls and bank accounts — into the bottom of a poorly labeled bin that looks suitable only for trash is an experience that, let's just say, could have been improved.
L&I, as we can now call Licensing and Inspections because we are officially regulars, has a wildly intimidating reputation. They are the gatekeepers for much of the progress people try to achieve in Philadelphia. They are bound by hundreds of pages of codes and regulations that are nearly impossible to interpret unless you have worked in this realm for a long time. And they work in the dark basement of Philly’s Municipal Services building, where even the upper floors can be a bit gloomy, but at least they have windows. Mayor Kenney, get L&I some windows!
Despite all this, I have actually really enjoyed most of my experiences with L&I so far. My first started out rocky, bit two hours later, the visit ended with fascinating conversations about my reviewer’s family history, and some well-intentioned life advice (which I often receive because I’m a young-ish woman and people like to give me life advice). As with so much on this journey of building Triple Bottom, you never really know what’s going to happen, but being nice in the face of frustration and confusion has led to some pleasant surprises. Now let’s hope we’re pleasantly surprised by what happens to our beloved roll of documents, left forlornly at the bottom of a trash bin in a dark city basement.