The Beer Temple and Middle Brow Form 'Za Dream Team
As the beer industry settles into a new era, updated business models are being introduced almost as rapidly as 2020. Breweries are combining, opening satellite taprooms, offering contract services, and introducing new product lines in search of greater scale. For the beer bars and bottle shops known for selection and curation, unique strategies of their own are being deployed to adjust to the changing trends between consumption on-site versus at home and open up new paths toward growth. This week, a dream team was unveiled between two leaders in their respective roles in the Chicago beer community.
The Beer Temple is a bottle shop and beer bar located in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago, just a few blocks from my home and conveniently along my short drive home from Revolution each day. Owner Chris Quinn has become a good friend over the years. Before I knew him and before they opened, he was a YouTuber (and probably will laugh that I phrase it like that). While waiting for all the hoops to be jumped through to open his bottle shop, he started making beer content to compliment the role that he hoped his store would play for beer enthusiasts. Inspired by the Gary Vee school of thought, this investment was ahead of its time in the early 2010s, especially in beer.
Once the bottle shop was well-established, Chris switched things up and started a podcast in 2015, the peak of craft beer’s hype cycle (and news cycle). The Beer Temple Insiders Roundtable (now The Beer Temple Podcast) never came off as an advertisement for his place of business, but the show no doubt lifts it indirectly by educating beer fans about the industry and bringing its members together for unique discussions and banter. I didn’t meet Chris by being a regular at his shop or through beer events. Instead, we connected through me reaching out regarding his podcast, which led to me being invited on while I worked at Reyes Holdings.
In addition to creating media outlets adjacent to The Beer Temple, Chris loves to tinker, and I love that about him. He’s never satisfied with the status quo and always looks toward the next new way to level up the Beer Temple and provide growth opportunities for his loyal team. In 2017, that meant expanding the bottle shop into a bar, moving both components next door to the original location. Then a few years ago, a kitchen was added (against all my warnings 😇) to improve the experience and add to the occasions that would attract customers in and lengthen their stay. Building around his existing team member Ryan, who is a very talented chef, they built the theme of their first menu around Southern Comfort food.
“Since day 1 of opening the tap room, people have wanted to eat here and we built out the space with the possibility of having a kitchen one day in mind, so it was great when we were actually able to do that.” Chris explained, “I think the best part was just being able to say ‘Yes’ when people asked if we served food here. Pizza had always been an option that I was interested in, but with Ryan already working here, it was too good not to pursue that style of food.”
When Ryan decided to pursue other opportunities, Chris decided to revisit his original vision sharing that, “Truth be told, pizza is what I always wanted to do here. I’ve been kicking the tires with bringing on pizza for about 5 years. I think that it matches perfectly with what we’re trying to do here. It’s as flexible a food as there is - works for Lunch or Dinner, Summer or Winter and goes great with both beer and wine. Plus it’s great for delivery. I can’t think of a beer fit for The Beer Temple.”
While Chris wanted to bring great pizza to Beer Temple fans, he wasn’t looking to do it under his own banner. Instead, he partnered with Pete Ternes and the team at Middle Brow who have emerged into one of the most exciting new pizza makers in the region. No stranger to shifting business models and adding new layers to their business, Middle Brow began as a contract brewed beer company in 2011 committed to donating 50% of their proceeds to local social justice organizations. Since then, they’ve evolved into a pizzary, bakery, brewery, and winery focused on, among other things, sourcing all of their ingredients from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
With Middle Brow’s Bungalow located only 1.5 miles from the Beer Temple and the two rocking a completely different vibes and aesthetic, I was curious how these two entrepreneurs would look to differentiate the two concepts. “Pete and I talked about this A LOT.” Chris emphasized, “We both agreed that we wanted something unique for The Beer Temple. And Pete busted his ass coming up with a whole bunch of different ideas along those lines. It’s not that I don’t want to serve the same pizza as Bungalow, but the reality is that we’re such different spaces.”
The two sides have settled on Detroit-style for the launch, staying true to Middle Brows Midwest commitment in theme, not just ingredients. The decision will offer a filling option for beer drinkers with its thick but light and airy crust.
Middle Brow’s reputation has grown quickly since opening in 2019, surviving in the pandemic, and thriving now with their permanent Logan Square home. While they specialize in what Chris referred to as artisan farmhouse pizza, noting those are his words not Pete’s, Middle Brow has also become famous for their Tuesday-only Tavern Cut pizza. The phenomenon even attracted Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports and his famous one-bite pizza reviews that garnered millions of views across all platforms.
Arriving at this point hasn’t been easy and there’s still work to be done before going live with more than just pizza, but a new service model altogether. “We know that there will be eyes on us from day one, so we’re transforming our hospitality model rather drastically to ensure a better experience for everyone whether they’re at the tap room or in the [bottle] shop.” Chris expanded, “Also, a pizza kitchen and a Southern Comfort food kitchen aren’t exactly the same, so there’s been a lot of work laying things out to work best for pizza, obviously including new equipment, but also a lot more done to change the flow of how things move in and out of the space. Even our website is completely changing to accommodate pizza ordering.”
One of the most fascinating parts of the announcement to me was the mention of delivery, which Chris intends to make a major part of their future model. The convenience factor that would be added to the bottle shop, as well as scale to the pizza operation, can’t be understated. Personally, I don’t love paying delivery fees for beer. Whether logical or not, those concerns disappear when it’s an add-on to a pizza delivery order that solves my family’s dinner. With The Beer Temple’s ability to curate awesome selections to their bottle shop, orchestrating many limited drops to the Chicago market including Rothhaus, Beachwood, and Fat Head’s in years past, fans will be able to see a social media post showcasing a new drop and have it delivered in an hour along along with their lunch or dinner.
“I want delivery to be a major part of what we do.” Chris added, “It’s something we’ve intentionally stayed away from until now - COVID times aside. I think our ability to deliver the quality of food and the quality of beer, wine, cider, and spirits is unmatched.” When I asked about how far of a radius they planned to cover, he tempered expectations, “We are going to move very carefully there.”
As far as when, Chris told me, “There’s still so much to do, which makes it hard to put any solid dates out there. We’re waiting on equipment and installations as well as the final touches on the menu - really so much still to do. But we’re working on it I promise!”
Beer and pizza is a proven winning combination that needs little explanation. When I visited Boston last year, I saw that Night Shift Brewing had refreshed their Brewpub and menu with a focus on Detroit-style pizza, winning Best Pizza in Boston Magazine almost immediately. I just returned from Sacramento over Thanksgiving where I visited the highly recommended Slice Beer Co., named after its next door neighbor and co-founder’s restaurant, Old Town Pizza. But the two don’t just get married and live happily ever after. Both are ultra competitive passions that need to work hard, in unison, in order to elevate each other and bring something new to the table.
The Beer Temple and Middle Brow are both innovators in their respective space and I expect them to do just that. Their new partnership represents a challenging, but logical leap to bolster each others’ business model. For Middle Brow, they’re able to broaden their reputation for championing great pizza, all while allowing their Bungalow restaurant and staff to stay focused. The Beer Temple will take on the capital investment and staff responsibilities, but gain a proven partner who knows how to win in the pizza space, does everything the right way, and is the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. As a huge fan of both parties, I hope they’re both rolling in the dough soon 🤌.