Tippe and Drague still on track to open, say owners

This building will become the Tippe and Drague Alehouse. Photo by Curtis Cronn in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
With all of the discussion lately about The Oak, a few have been reminded of another drinking establishment expected to open soon on Beacon Avenue South, the Tippe and Drague Alehouse. The Tippe and Drague will be located in the former ROCKiT space building at 3315 Beacon Ave. S. It has been nearly a year since the news first broke about the alehouse (at the time, they said “anticipate suds flowing in June”), and there have been rumors going around the neighborhood that the Tippe and Drague might not open after all.

The Beacon Hill Blog contacted the alehouse’s owners, Melissa Cabal and Robert McConaughy, to find out what is happening. Here’s what they told us:

“There’ve been a few snags with the city and permitting but we’re moving forward and hope to open in May—alehouse with food, local beers and wines. One side of the space will allow minors to accommodate the high number of families with small children in the neighborhood.”

They say the liquor license is not an issue, and that they have been granted a provisional license already, with the permanent license to come shortly before the pub opens. It is possible, then, that both the Oak and the Tippe and Drague will open this spring. Big changes are on the way for Beacon Avenue nightlife.

16 thoughts on “Tippe and Drague still on track to open, say owners”

  1. One other somewhat off the wall thought, I’m going to put here on the off chance that the owners of Tippe and Drague read this.

    Tippe and Drague is the closest commercial space to the northeast corner of Jefferson Park. The northest corner of Jefferson Park has all of the kid centric stuff in it (including the the soon to be opened beacon Mountain water area).

    If Tippe and Drague found room to incorporate 4-6 tubs of Full Tilt or Molly Moon’s ice cream (plus cups and cones) into its space and business model, I suspect that might yield a surprising amount of additional weekend afternoon and early evening business to their establishment (especially in the warmer months)by providing special treats for adults and children alike.

    Full Tilt has beer at its stores and that seems to be a pretty good combo for them.

    I just throw this out there, because currently the closest ice cream places to the park are Baskin Robbins on Rainier and Full Tilt in Columbia City. Nobody is going to walk their kids from the park to these establishments for an ice cream break.

  2. Thanks to Wendy for her detective work and j’s great suggestion , since they will be getting food licenses. A problem may arise in the extra attention needed,for ice-cream and related,plus extra space and equipment and unless it is served in the restaurant area only,no takeout.

    Now if we could just get our old sub-postoffice back in some fashion, there are so few secure street mailboxes.

    As an aside, I wonder if the little Taquira place across from the North Beacon Shell station will ever open , hearsay has it the delay is caused by a non-handicap entrance and a relative not wanting to fix it. It is owned by The Station coffeehouse/bar( who makes great sangria drinks if the right person makes them) .

    Again ,as to liquor bar operations , the arm of the WSLC goes outside the bar, if a bar over serves a customer and they drive, geta DUI or in a wreck, Said bar where they were last served will be penalized with fines to the establishment and even bartenders ,or limit or cancel their license after repeated offenses.Further ,the offending bar employees must undergo further training.
    So a bar owner/employees are going to be very careful after spending thousands of dollars opening a bar, particularly if they own the property as well.
    On that note I wish them success . L L

  3. I actually contacted the parks dept about getting Jefferson Park on the list of parks that could accommodate portable food vendors, they didn’t make the list this year but expect something to happen summer of 2013.

    Yea for Tippe and Drague, another welcome venue in our neighborhood. Can we actually start hosting Pub crawls on Beacon Hill?

  4. Yay! So glad to hear it’s still on track; I got rather worried when I saw the liquor license application gone from the door. πŸ™‚

    Since we’re making suggestions, might I add mine? So few pubs have a decent hard cider on tap for those of us who don’t like beer, and bottled cider just isn’t the same thing. The Columbia City Alehouse has Blackthorn on tap, and I luuuurve them for it. Would love to be able to stop in for a pint of that or Strongbow or another good non-hopped brew on my walk home from the park!

  5. It is hoped that T & D will have a decent breakfast/ brunch. It is quite expensive for bars to open early,as patrons usually are afternooner/evening customers. further,to start,it is expensive to build a kitchen of any size in a bar,that can serve a “bacon and eggs” breakfast. It means extra employees, different licensing ,space , and of course customers.
    I,for one, would welcome a lounge/restaurant with a limited ,but quality menu, with just the basics,closer than the Silver Fork or Geraldines. You Go Guys ! LL

    PS: I know it’s a bar, that’s where the money is.

  6. I’ll be happy with just a solid, friendly pub that serves tasty, brew-complementing meals at lunch and dinnertime. A good breakfast place is a thing of wonder and beauty, indeed, but a pub that just concentrates on being an excellent pub is every bit as good. Not that I’d turn down an alternative to the clubhouse for breakfast out, of course. And certain mornings just call for a pint of cider with your pancakes. (I’m a writer; these things are allowed.)

    I just worry that if the Tipp and Drague folks try to be everything to everyone right at the start, they’ll end up not being much of anything special. Seems smarter to open as a regular-hours pub and then see where the market takes them after that. Just my two cents’ worth, of course, and that’s not much in any economy. πŸ˜‰

  7. Okay, nigh-completely off-topic post here, but with all the recent bar-related conversation on here, I just had to point this out…

    About sixty years ago, right here on north Beacon Hill, a young accountant and an executive secretary for a Seattle-based steamship company finished their game of golf at Jefferson Park and walked up to the nearby bar for a drink. Over that particular pint, he proposed to her (for about the hundredth time), and then (as he was so used to her usual rejections) kept right on talking after she said “yes”. Fifty-nine years ago this week, they married.

    As an interesting note, they never thought to mention this story to their daughter until after she and her own husband purchased a house on Beacon Hill, just a short walk from that long-defunct bar. Given that the whole family had lived all over the country, and several places abroad, during the intervening years, it’s quite the coincidence that she — which is to say, I — ended up settling down right here, where it all started.

    So yes, not only do I wholeheartedly support a new drinking establishment near the golf course, but I dearly hope it is open by late summer, when I’m expecting that former accountant and executive secretary to venture north of Arizona and stay with us for a while. πŸ™‚

    I know they’ll want to raise a glass to good memories.

  8. There are already 3 or 4 bars that serve food other than just liquor, some classified as bar
    snacks, to sit down served foods, on our hill.
    There is competition in most any business, including bars,also including those serving food.
    Further, as I mentioned earlier, it is also very costly to add food service to any bar. I wish T & D
    much success, and I presume their new license still reads “spirits/br/wine/lounge/restaurant”.

    The architectural layout probably has been planned for all of that, rather than just start a bar
    and add a restaurant later, whatever the size. We will see, in May?, hopefully sooner. I feel that
    even the people that have qualms about it, will patronize it.

    PS: the profit margin is very low for food service and requires high maintenance ,versus just a bar, in my experience. LL

  9. CindyV, thank you for sharing that story! Brought a big smile to my face.

    And T and D, I wish you all the best of luck! Can’t wait to see what you’ve done with my old stomping ground. I look forward to raising a glass, not for the first time, in your lovely space, but this time, it will be a glass of your tasty brew! Mmm…I have high hopes! πŸ˜€

  10. Yes! I have hoped that things were still on track, and I truly am excited to have ANOTHER great food/bev option in the neighborhood. T&D, keep us posted on the grand opening!

  11. Well ,the money is in the liquor, beer and wine, profits on foods not so much. but it is a drawing card, nevertheless. I’m not a connoisseur of beers,having had my rascally heydaze with Pabst Blue Ribbon, Budweiser ,etc, Remember Ripple ?
    I am more interested in what the food configuration will be, besides bar snacks. The Mighty Oak, has divulged some plans already.
    I did plenty of crawling to and from pubs in ,again,those early daze. From now on I want a Limo !

    Again ,best wishes to T & D and the Oak for progress on our Hill . L L NBH

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