Acts have their own dedicated entrance as well, with easy access to a green room, the merchandising space, and, of course, the stage. It has a separate entrance from the restaurant, on Durant Avenue, and the ticket office, coat check, and merchandising space are all right next to this entrance. The venue space will fit around 500 people, and Popov and Hoff have designed it with attention to every detail. (Smaller acts can book the café stage in the restaurant.) The venue space at Cornerstone functions as a ping pong and corn hole arena when there aren’t performers on stage. Once work is complete, Popov said it will host a wide range of acts, everything from reggae musicians to indie rock bands to hip hop artists. Just last week, Popov and Hoff were in the space helping the sound system get set up, and work on the eight-tap venue bar is just finishing up. The other side of the space is the formal venue area, which is still in progress. Of course, all of this is just half of the Cornerstone offerings. There’s also plenty of space to schmooze and sell swag, said Popov. Breweries can basically plug-and-play at this bar without having to disrupt the main bar set-up. There is also a special eight-tap bar system set up on the patio that Popov said will be perfect for tap takeovers. Photo: Marcell Turnerįood will be available in the large dining area that includes several long, tall tables that can accommodate large parties, or on the back patio/beer garden area complete with two massive fire pits. The back patio area at Cornerstone contains two large fire pits and space for breweries to hold tap takeover events. It will also serve macaroni and cheese balls, which will be baked in a Turbo Chef oven instead of being fried, Paula Deen style. Popov and Hoff described it as “rustic comfort food that tastes good with beer.” Think - pot pie, ribs, meatloaf and vegetarian lasagna. Speaking of food, Cornerstone’s menu will be fairly simple. Beer is food, so it needs to taste good.” “I’m happy to work with craft beer folks that know more because, unless you have that trained palate, it’s hard to do craft beer correctly. “I learned a lot at Pappy’s,” Popov said. (Larger companies, like Budweiser, will often clean the lines when they deliver beers, according to Popov.) Before that, Popov didn’t know that beer bars often have to be responsible for cleaning out their own lines that bring the beer from the keg to the tap, as smaller breweries don’t have the capacity to do so when they deliver their beers. His experience bringing in craft beer at his Telegraph Avenue bar, Pappy’s Grill, was also instructional. One of Popov’s “beer guys” even drove down to San Diego recently to pick up several kegs of one-offs and special beers from places like Abnormal Beer Company, which are usually harder to find in the East Bay. It even offers Abita root beer on tap which is, according to Hoff, the “best root beer I’ve ever had. In addition to Cornerstone, Richard has developed the beer lists at Portal, Philomena Pizza and Rosamunde.Ĭornerstone is pouring everything from Fieldwork IPAs and Faction pale ale to Council Beatitude tart saison and Harmonic Brewing‘s English ale made with Marasca cherries. Popov added that he’s been grateful for the help he’s gotten from Michael Richard, who has worked at Øl Beercafe in Walnut Creek and currently runs a company, Liquid Curations, that helps with beer list curation. Photo: Cornerstone/FacebookĬornerstone does have a full liquor license and some of the drink offerings Popov is most excited about are high-end boilermakers featuring whiskey and beer pairings. He’s also planning to stock beer magazines around the bar for perusing. Many beers, much of them lower in ABV, or alcohol, are available by the pitcher. In addition to bringing in certified cicerones (sommeliers for beer) to work at the restaurant, Popov has taught his bartenders about tasting beers and identifying off-tastes, so they’re as knowledgable as possible for his guests. “We want people who don’t know much to be able to come here and ask questions and educate themselves if they want,” said Popov. The aim, both Popov and Hoff said, is to keep the beer program accessible. Much of Cornerstone’s 50-foot main bar is dedicated to a sprawling 42-tap beer list that is divided up into easy-to-use categories: hoppy, dark, light, tart, cider and “specialty” finds. For now, the venue area is playing host to ping pong tables, corn hole boards and a giant collection of Jenga blocks. Popov said Cornerstone has already been a draw for such serious ping pong players that they bring in their own paddles. The larger venue space will not hold music shows until next month.
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