The Yard House Tap Room Chain Coming to Downtown Portland

I guess I missed this news when it broke a while back, but I just came upon word that The Yard House is opening a location in downtown Portland's Pioneer Place shopping center in early 2013. The Yard House has 39 restaurants in 13 states and is known for offering more than 100 craft beers on tap. Though a shopping center may not be the ideal place to go for a craft beer, at least those who live on the westside have another option. The rest of us will have a place to stop in for a good beer while doing our Christmas shopping, so for that I am overjoyed.



Theer is recent news of Darden Restaurants Inc. planned purchase of The Yard House's portfolio of restaurants for $585 million. Darden is the company that runs the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains. So, more corporations are getting into the craft beer game from every side of the equation, realizing that craft beer is the next big thing. Is this good or bad?

About The Yardhouse
Yard House is the creation of founder and entrepreneur Steele Platt, who came up with the concept shortly after relocating from Denver to Southern California in the early 1990s. Platt, along with partners Harald Herrmann and Carlito Jocson, wanted to create a restaurant that would offer one of the largest selections of draft beers, a diverse menu of American fare, and play a heady selection of classic rock music on a state-of-the-art sound system. On December 7, 1996, the flagship Yard House opened along the Long Beach waterfront in Southern California.