There’s the old adage that we never really own beer, that we’re just renting it. The human condition being what it is, after a few rounds of beer, a trip to the restroom is necessary. What’s interesting is that despite being such a necessary part of the brewery experience, the actual restrooms at breweries are an afterthought, a homogenized experience of white tile and plastic laminate countertops that is a stark contrast to the increasingly thoughtful decor of a taproom.
“You want your restroom to connect and show how you are as a business and how you pay attention to detail,” says Eric Moore, a senior interior designer with the Kohler Co. “If the experience falls short in one area, you can lose what you’re trying to create with a space.”
A few years back, when I was visiting the Harpoon Brewery’s new beer hall space in the Seaport district just east of downtown, a friend returned to the table early in our visit and said, “You need to see the restroom.”