If you're a craft beer drinker who spends time in East Dallas, you've likely stopped into The Bottle Shop on Lower Greenville to drink a pint, fill a growler, snag free pizza on Mondays, or pick up some bottles as a gift. (Or, in my case, post up with a laptop and work until last call because beer, obviously.)
Since 2011, the bar has been a one-stop shop for thirsty locals who didn't want to leave the neighborhood for anything beer-related, which is why we named it one of the best beer bars in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2014. But the area's recent restaurant boom hasn't done well for the business. The Bottle Shop will close at the end of January, according Facebook.
"We couldn't be more grateful for all of your love and support throughout the years," reads the note. "2011 was the start of an amazing journey for us as a business as well as owners and staff."
Speaking with the Dallas Observer, bar owner Clay Hartmann attributed the closure to his increasingly busy schedule -- he's a full-time attorney and new parent -- and slow sales.
"Lower Greenville has just not been real friendly to us lately," Hartmann told the pub, referring to the infamous lack of parking. "People don't want to valet their car to fill a growler."
So that's bad news. The good news is that The Bottle Shop is digging deep in its cellar and making some of its most exciting beers available for a blow-out party Jan. 20-22, including 2011 vintages of Live Oak Brewing Co.'s Treehugger barley wine and Avery Brewing Co.'s The Beast grand cru oak-aged ale. The weekend-long event includes also live music.
Another piece of good news: The bar may pop-up again somewhere at some point. Hartmann told the Observer he's not ruling out bringing the Bottle Shop to a new home in the future, but it wouldn't be in Lower Greenville.
"We may reopen at some point in the next year or two, he said.
