Tomorrow, Friday November 22, Braun's Taphaus & Grille , a new restaurant venture from the Udi's Foods group, will open in the former Archive Room in Olde Town Arvada. Located at 5601 Olde Wadsworth Boulevard, the new sports bar and German-inspired eatery and beer house sits right across the street from Udi's Pizza Cafe & Bar, a restaurant that the group opened four years ago.
When the family-owned restaurant group who mostly focuses on healthy food offerings took over this location just two months ago, they saw an opportunity to do things differently. "We finally had a place where we can have a real full-fledged beer program and we can do our take on bar food with it," chef Robin Bar-On says. "Colorado has some of the best beers in the country and the people here really appreciate a good selection of beers," she adds.
Part of that real beer program is a 20 tap system that includes many Colorado beers like Avery's Salvation, Crooked Stave's Vieille, and the Old Chub from Oskar Blues. Five of the taps will stick around for about 3 months at a time while the other fifteen, some of which do include non-Colorado brews like the Brown Shugga from Lagunitas or Carrack from Mission, will rotate every month. In addition to the taps, there are over 80 beers in bottles and cans from breweries including Dogfish Head, Firestone Walker, and Konig Ludwig. The tap house will feature beer flights and beer cocktails, alongside a full bar.
Braun's menu brings traditional German cuisine and American comfort food. There seems to be something for everyone offered, from French onion soup and Caesar salad to the portabello "Juicy Lucy," the Biker Jim sausage dog, three types of gourmet nachos, and Buffalo wings slow-cooked in bacon fat. "We are keeping true to a pub-type concept but we are making everything fresh in house from ice cream to fish and chips," Robin explained.
A brunch item to seek out is the Croissaffle, a waffle made with the same croissant dough used for Udi's famous riff on a cronut, the Colorado Queen. The Croissaffle will be served both sweet as a dessert and savory alongside fried chicken.
For those in search of something sweet, new executive pastry chef, Jason Lebeau created traditional Americana desserts including a peanut butter sundae, a chocolate stout beer float, and a warm German apple strudel. There are also several flavors of house-made soft-serve ice cream available.
The space has been cleaned up and changed in subtle ways. The paint went back to simple black and white. The floors were refinished. In the entryway, Braun's removed the low lounge-like seating area and added a pool table. Several TVs were added for a total of 11 on which guests will be able to watch sports, MMA events, and more.
The family named this new venture, Braun, pronounced "brown," to recognize pays its original last name of the family. After immigrating to Israel from Austria, their name was changed to Bar-On.
· Udi's Foods Will Open Braun's Taphaus & Grille, a German Taphouse in Arvada [EDen]
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