TRIA Taproom reinvents the classic tap house as an intimate, 1,400-square-foot, 65-seat restaurant located in Philadelphia’s lux Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. The concept is a masculine industrial bar, yet warm and comfortable. A place to converse. A different kind of bar.
Designers carved away the existing space to reveal the rich texture of the historic building fabric, exposing brick, plaster, and a large window to naturally light the bar. New elements such as a blackened steel bar wrap, wood clad banquets and custom-fabricated light fixtures were added to slide and fold through the space, creating the juxtaposition of strong yet warm, industrial yet comfortable. The bar is the heart of the space; a dramatic contrast of blackened steel and white Carrera marble highlights the wall of taps.
The bar foregoes the use of any bottles for beverages; instead relying on a pioneering system. 40 taps dispense draft beer, draft wine, and artisanal sodas through a combination of under counter Perlick tap wine coolers and Micro Matic remote wall taps. Beverages are managed through a unique online system by BevChek that allows real-time tracking of the beverages by staff. Guests interface through interactive, iPad-based menus, describing each drink while showing the amount remaining in each keg.
Tables and flooring were sourced of reclaimed wood from a central Pennsylvania mill, redwood bar tops were salvaged from a water tower, and industrial furnishes and fixtures are repurposed throughout.