Wow, it’s been a crazy 2nd quarter, and really this past year has been a whirlwind (obviously since we haven’t posted a blog in almost a year).
Hopefully by now you know that we have successfully moved into our new taproom space at 1719 E. Victor Street, and things are going well. Initially, I was concerned that our regular guests and mug club members wouldn’t like the new space, or that it wouldn’t have that cozy feel we’re all used to at “The Gnome".
I’ve been blown away this past month by the support of our regulars or “gnomies,” the small business community, and all of the new faces we’re able to see and host at this more accommodating space, and while we know you miss the original gnome, or OG for short, being able to spread out and go outside, invite more friends, and make new friends, has been a truly amazing experience for all of us.
The team has been working tirelessly this past quarter to ensure a welcoming and successful experience. This has not come without its challenges though; having more space means less time to talk to everyone and really engage with our guests. If you’re missing this interaction as well, we suggest coming in during the week for more of that OG experience. In between all of the opening chaos, ribbon cuttings, and celebrating 8 years of gnome beers, we’re encouraging the team to take time to celebrate all they’ve accomplished. Torrey and I need to also take more time to celebrate…we both looked around the other day and said, “wow, we really did this.”
My favorite part of the move has been all of the community collaborations we’re already doing and will do in this space. It has always been a dream of mine to cross-promote with food trucks and other small businesses in order to continue to strengthen our buy-local community, specifically in our neighborhood and Douglas Design District. We were very intentional when designing the space to be able to host food trucks and provide electricity and other amenities in order to create a favorable experience for them, and we’ve received great feedback so far! Our Pride Celebration and Queer Beers ICT meet-up, included our friends at the new Wichita Experience Rentals, with a photo booth and rainbow cotton candy; it was a fun event for all ages. We also recently hosted a fun partnership with Eight Ball Fashion. They curated a Hopping Gnome themed Cookman USA pants line and decided to have a release party at our place. These are the types of unique events and collaborations we will continue to seek out and offer as we go.
We have such an amazing team, that I’ve been able to get out more this past month and do some fun things like attend local networking and community events. Sharisse and I will be attending the Social Media Day ICT event this week, where I’ll give a workshop on community engagement through reels & TikToks, and I look forward to learning some new things that we can apply to our social media marketing plan. Torrey got to go to the Wichita Open with me, but other than that, he’s been pretty busy making beer happen over at the brew house.
So what’s next? We will continue to add more events like live music, and will bring back old favorites like the Thirkin Thursday Firkin nights this fall, not to mention more new beers and seasonal favorites. If you haven’t met our new Events Manager, Aharon Hoopes, she’s already kicking ass at the food truck and event scheduling. We’re currently planning our annual Xmas in July event for the end of July and a Back-to-School Bash in mid-August. You know we’re all in for Open Streets ICT and can’t wait for you to utilize our new bike racks make by teammate Lauren Bohm, and be looking for more info on a new Oktoberfest-themed event soon that will be taking place in September.
What’s happening with the OG? Plans are in the works to host private events in the original taproom. We will be rolling out more info later this summer, and planning to start scheduling events this fall.
Until then, I hope that you will come by for a beer and celebrate this milestone with us. Thank you for making the Gnew Gnome feel like home.
Cheers,
Stacy