On February 23, The Daily Growler‘s newest location opens at Polaris Fashion Place. Festivities take place from 5:30 PM to 10:30 PM that evening.
The Daily Growler, voted “Best Growler Fill Spot” for the sixth year in a row by Columbus Alive and 614 Columbus, and named “Best Craft Beer Bar in Columbus” by The BrewDog Network’s “The BrewDog Show,” will be located in the food hall at Polaris Fashion Place, which is located near Dick’s Sporting Goods and Field & Stream on the town center’s upper level.
Lou Conforti, CEO and Director of Washington Prime Group: “First, I haven’t met John W. Blakely yet, but how can you not love a guy who, in similar fashion to Herbert Hoover’s poultry reference, envisions a ‘Daily Growler in every food court’? Second, apologies to Milton Friedman, et. al. albeit I did the math and six consecutive Best Columbus Growler Fill Spot awards are equal to 1.78 Nobel Prizes. Third, kudos to our local management and leasing team who sought out a differentiated concept and executed accordingly. As I have said time after time, imbuing our assets with local flavor (pun intended) alongside stalwart regional and national tenants is a differentiating factor and furthers our dominant secondary marketplace mandate. Sláinte!”
John W. Blakely, Co-owner of The Daily Growler stated: “We had long thought a food court setting would be a great location for The Daily Growler, but it never seemed plausible for a small, family business – until now. We were thrilled when Washington Prime Group reached out to us, and we believe their goal to partner with smaller, local businesses is a huge differentiator for Polaris Fashion Place.”
Blakely added: “We look at this as a game changer both for Polaris Fashion Place and The Daily Growler. If this concept proves successful, my kids may grow up in a world never having known food courts didn’t always have Daily Growlers. When I found out they were putting a brewery in Disneyland, I knew the world was ready for The Daily Growler in the food court!”
The Daily Growler will be brewing a collaboration beer with Hoof Hearted Brewing, a Columbus-based brewery, nationally recognized as one of the best breweries in America, to commemorate the opening of The Daily Growler Polaris. The beer, called Mall Rāz, is a raspberry ale that will only be available at The Daily Growler and Hoof Hearted in both package and draft.
The new location was designed by Columbus architect Mark Ours of Mode Architects.
The Daily Growler opened its first craft beer bar, which fills samples, pints and growlers from dozens of craft beer taps, in Upper Arlington, Ohio, in 2012 and followed that with a Powell, Ohio, location in 2014. Their third location in the revitalized South High Street area of German Village opened in the Brewery District in 2017. The Daily Growler, Ohio’s first growler bar (maybe the first in the country) is a true family-owned business, opened by John R. & Delores Blakely and their son, John W. Blakely. They found a great formula for success with “Fast, Casual, Beer” that combined on-site drinking with Growler and Crowlers to go.
Washington Prime Group, the parent company of Polaris Fashion Place, is executing its strategy of adding more lifestyle tenancy as a key element to enhancing the guest experience, driving guest traffic and extending duration of visits to its town centers. Lifestyle tenancy includes food and beverages, entertainment, home furnishings, grocery, fitness, wellness and beauty services. As of August 31, 2018, the Company has leased over 2.7 million square feet throughout its total portfolio, which includes inline and anchor space, of which 64% of new leasing activity was to lifestyle tenancy.
