T. Phillip’s Poised to Open This Weekend in Monrovia
By Susan Motander
Published: Thursday, April 15th, 2010
The Spencers will be ready to greet great ale fans this weekend - Photo by Terry Miller
By Susan Motander
The long awaited opening of T. Phillip’s Alehouse is just around the corner. With private openings by invitation only this evening, April 15 and tomorrow, the alehouse at the corner of Myrtle and Colorado is staging a soft opening. The full opening will follow in a few days.
Originally the social security office in town, Tony Spencer, who owns the Alehouse with his wife Naomi, jokes that “it will become my social security. At one point the building was seriously under consideration by Vroman’s for expansion of their chain, but those plans fell through. So from books, it has moved to brews, and what a selection of brews there will be. There are a total of 72 beers, ales, lagers and porters on tap. Of these 11 taps will be dedicated to Belgian brews including that champagne of ales, Chimay Blue. Made by trappist monks in Scourmont Abbey in the Belgian municipality of Chimay, it is a copper-brown beer which has a creamy head and a slightly bitter taste. It is a classic and one rarely seen on tap; for this alone the Alehouse is worth a visit.
There are the usual, expected brews including Bud and Corona along with Red Tail Ale and local favorites from Craftsman Brewery. But it is the little known beers which are most intriguing. Has anyone every heard of Haywire, or Magic Hat, or (my favorite name) Old Foghorn which is described as a Barley Wine Style Ale? With 72 choices, there is bound to be something for everyone.
But the Alehouse will have a great deal more according to its owners. There will be a complete menu of steaks, seafood, salads and chops. The bar will seat 20 and there is a private room which can be reserved and seats 20 to 30 people. The Spencers hope this might be used for corporate gatherings. There are also 5 large booths and lots of smaller tables which are designed to be able to be put together for larger groups. The restaurant will be able to sit somewhere between one and two hundred people (depending on occupancy determinations by the fire department).
In describing their concept the Spencers say they were striving for the feeling of a turn of the century tavern (presumedly the turn from 18th to 19th century). They wanted it to have a small town, old town, Midwestern feel to the Alehouse.
The goal was to create “a comfortable place to hang out.”
There are discretely placed televisions, but the emphasis is not on watching the screens. The Spencer said that theirs is not a sports bar, but a place to gather, meet with friends and enjoy good food and good conversation. “If you want to watch T.V., go home.” Tony advised.
There will be live music soon including jazz, classic rock, and blues.
All the Ales and Beers that are Fit To Drink
When it opens to the public, T. Phillip’s will be open from 11 to 11 Sunday through Thursday and from 11 to 12 on Friday and Saturday.
This is not a totally new venture for the Spencers, they are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the original T. Phillip’s in La Verne. One can hope that the food here will be a good as that in La Verne which was described by one patron of that establishment as “pretty good grub.”
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