While I was whiling the beer hours away at various spots in Portland, some major SoCal news hit. Not that I would have scooped anybody but I would feel remiss if I didn’t weigh in on Firestone Walker’s announcement that they are heading to a location in Venice which depending on traffic may still be as far away as Firestone Walker in Buellton.
So it won’t be perched on the canals. Probably not enough parking for that. But this is where it will be, “The property is located on West Washington Boulevard near Lincoln Boulevard. Adam and David selected this site after more than two years of searching. It’s not a main street or restaurant row, but it’s still accessible.”
The goal being to “establish a third leg along the coast, complementing our existing locations in Paso Robles and Buellton.” I am all for Firestone being here but it wasn’t as if I felt neglected by them at all. Part of the joy of visiting them was the excuse to visit the majestic new BarrelWorks in Buellton or hit up Paso and the surrounding sights. Now will people take them for granted? To a certain extent, some beers like Solace and regular Union Jack and DBA get short shrift in the rush for barrel aged products and double this and that.
Best case scenario is this new spot becomes the hub for the off-the-wall events like Deconstructed or Walker’s Wild Ride that have been high points in my beer experiences in LA. Hopefully it can be a center for food and beer pairings. Sour seminars and the like would be great too.
The best sign about this move is that our fair city (adopted or native) is getting the attention of breweries.