Beer and barbecue lovers in Montgomery County now have a new place to try out.
On Tuesday, Che and Tadd Ruddell-Tabisola, owners of the well-known food truck BBQ Bus, moved their operation from the truck to the new full-service kitchen at Denizens Brewing Co. in Silver Spring. On the first day of operations, the preview menu included pulled pork, pulled chicken, brisket, ribs, coleslaw, baked beans, cornbread and more.
“It’s a blast,” Che Ruddell-Tabisola said of the move into the new kitchen. “It’s nice to have all the space.” He added that as they hone their operations they’ll update the menu with new options.
Among the beer available to wash it all down is Denizens’ own Lowest Lord Extra Special Bitter beer, which is being brewed at Beltway Brewing Company in Virginia while the restaurant finishes its basement brewery operation. Heavy Seas Loose Cannon, Allagash White and Starr Hill’s Starr Pils were also on tap Tuesday night.
Denizens opened its beer garden last month, and up to this point had been allowing customers to bring their own food to the 150-seat space while BBQ Bus made the transition from its mobile operations to the brick and mortar restaurant.
Emily Bruno, who co-owns the brewery and restaurant with Julie Verratti and Jeff Ramirez, said it has been exciting to open more facets of the business. Bruno said she has been overwhelmed by the number of customers, which resulted in a recent hiring spree that nearly doubled the size of the staff.
Even the beer is flowing fast. Taylor Barnes, the director of marketing, said the business has already sold out of its first run of Southside Rye IPA, the first beer it premiered, and is now brewing more at Beltway with plans to bring it back next week.
On Tuesday night, every table at the outdoor beer garden was filled by 8:20 p.m. IPad-carrying servers carted plates of barbecue and side orders to their customers while hip-hop music played over speakers.
Barnes said the next move for the business is to begin brewing Denizens’ beer in-house, and the plan is to start in mid-August. Denizens hopes to open the downstairs dining room, which was designed with views of the brewery operation, in mid-September.