Montgomery's Own Underground

Railyard Brewing Co. Opens The Porter Club

April 2016
By David Zaslawsky  
Photography by Robert Fouts

The foundation was there and the space was there, so it did not take a wheelbarrow full of money to convert the basement of Railyard Brewing Co. into two venues: The Tavern and The Porter Club.

When Railyard Brewing Co. owner and general manager Bob Parker said all he did was decorate the area, he is downplaying his role. It was much more involved than that and it’s still evolving, as wooden walls were recently installed at The Porter Club. He just built the bar for that area, too.

“I didn’t think it would cost that much, but I keep adding stuff,” said Parker, who spent $50,000 for the makeover. “I’m not content with it just being OK.” He said he wants customers to be “amazed. I like that word. It’s all about expectations. You aren’t expecting this,” he said about the rooms, which are decorated with cool tables, chairs and couches.

“When I walk downstairs I expect a basement. When I tell people to come downstairs they are like, ‘What am I going to see? A basement?’ C’mon, you’ll be amazed and I love the comments: ‘I want to live here. I’ve got to plan a party here.’ ”

It is no exaggeration when Parker said, “There’s nothing like it in Montgomery – not at the price point and not at the size.”

It is so much more than a conversation piece. It’s all about revenue and Parker said the goal is for the two venues to account for 25 percent of Railyard Brewing’s revenue. Think of it this way: If someone goes downstairs for an event, that person may decide to eat at the restaurant upstairs. If someone goes to the restaurant they may want to have an event downstairs. He said that the events downstairs bring in people who may not otherwise visit Railyard Brewing Co.

Parker considers The Tavern, which has been open about a year, and The Porter Club, which opened in April, as offsite venues. He calls catering from Dreamland Bar-B-Que offsite revenue. He is owner
and general manager of Dreamland, about a block
away from Railyard Brewing. If Dreamland has a good day and adds catering for 200 people, “the sales go way up,” he said.

If Parker serves 150 meals all day at Railyard Brewing and adds a 50-person event downstairs – “that’s a third more in business we did that day,” he said.

Talk about tremendous upside, and there really is no downside. The downstairs venues do not create “a whole lot more work” because the food has already been prepared and it “doesn’t clog up our dining room,” Parker said.

He averages one to two events a week at The Tavern, but was much busier during the holiday season. Although there is no rental fee, there is a minimum food and beverage charge for weekday nights ($500) and weekends ($750). Depending on the size of the private parties, there could be more than one event at each of the venues. The Tavern holds 70 for a seated dinner and 100 standing, while The Porter Club will hold about 60 people.

The newly opened Porter Club is “going to feel a little bit like a men’s club,” Parker said, adding that he hates that term. He would prefer it being a cigar bar, but without the required filtration system it will have to be a cigar bar without the cigars.

Now for what The Porter Club does have, and that’s top-of-the-line alcohol that could cost anywhere from $5 a glass to $100 a glass. Parker has about 85 bottles and is still adding to his collection. He calls it an amenity – having bottles that no one else will have in the city, from scotch, whisky and rye to bourbon and tequila.

Annual memberships will be sold for The Porter Club for $100 apiece and that includes a mug club membership, which is $25 a year. Customers receive a 20-ounce beer for the cost of a 16-ounce beer.

Porter Club members have access to the venue when it is not booked. There is no fee to use the room during the day.

The room is filled with couches, chairs and tables – not to mention a 1940s pool table, dart board and card tables. There is a poker table made from whiskey barrels, but Parker said it is an accent piece.

He described the color scheme as “old school – a lot of reds and browns.” There will be pagers around the room for customers to order food.

The Tavern and The Porter Club “are a huge part” of the business, Parker said. “They give it sustainability. They make this work.”

He did hire an events coordinator and three or four part-time employees who work the events.

There is another work in progress. Parker is adding a deck by the parking lot near Riverwalk Stadium, where the Montgomery Biscuits play about 70 home games a year. The deck will have tables and chairs and music. He expected to have it completed in the spring.