Black Rock owner expands taps, starts remodeling downstairs

The new taps at Black Rock, 439 A Street

Little more than a year after he bought Vino Rosso and turned it into Black Rock Fine Wine and Craft Beer, Chuck Chute is not resting on his laurels.

Chuck Chute

Last week he expanded his number of taps from 10 to 30, and he is remodeling the 2,500 square feet downstairs into a performing venue for music. A grand opening is being planned for April 23.

“The reality is the craft beer market is growing 30 percent a year,” he said. The tap
system, which was installed March 14 by Hayden Beverage, will allow him to offer a greater variety and grow his sales.

“This changes the way we sell draft beer,” he said. “We’ll be able to offer four IPAs instead of one, and sample flights. We couldn’t do that before because the bandwidth was so narrow.”

Carpenter Corey Petersen built the cold box to house the tap apparatus. Some modifications in the cooler behind the wall were necessary, and a chalkboard is no longer adequate to the task of advertising everything they’re serving. The next new development will be a high-­res screen and projector system that will allow them to change their listings with a laptop. “It should make it pretty visually dynamic,” Chute said.

The bar is also selling refillable growlers for beer and wine. They have been specially designed and engraved.

“There are plenty of places in town people can go to get a draft beer,” Chute said. “We needed to take it up a notch.”

As for downstairs, project manager Tony Deschamps is seeking music memorabilia for the theme, so if you have a photo of yourself with a rock, pop or country music star he’s inviting you to send a file to him at tonydechamp@gmail.com. Likewise if you have a photo of yourself in a garage band, and if you are interested in designing music-­related art he is interested in hearing your ideas.

Also needed:

• An upright piano, to be painted in vivid, psychedelic colors. “It can be in any shape, but must be tunable,” he said.
• Concert posters, psychedelic art, old musical instruments, photos, guitar picks.

“We want pieces that mean something to music fans, especially local music fans,” he said. “These can be donated, loaned, or we may also buy them from you. All items on loan will be insured and catalogued. You will be able to reclaim it any time you'd like.”