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A peek inside this self-serve taproom headed to uptown

taproom social charlotte6

Taproom Social is Uptown Charlotte’s newest self-pour taproom with a 50-tap beer wall opening this spring!

*Original Source: Charlotte Business Journal

This self-serve taproom planned for Charlotte’s uptown is racing the clock to open by April 3 — opening day for the Charlotte Knights minor league baseball team. Taproom Social will be on the ground level of The Mint Apartments, making it neighbors with BB&T Ballpark.

Construction on the 2,400-square-foot space should start soon, with a goal of wrapping up by early April, says Sunkul Soni, owner of SKS Ventures LLC. 

Its address is 430 W. Fourth St. in Charlotte’s Third Ward. Expect a neighborhood hangout that incorporates a lounge area and patio space as well.

“I just want to be part of the uptown community and focus on the residents there,” he says.

Soni grew up in Charlotte before heading to New York City for college. He found himself moonlighting as a bartender to make ends meet. After graduation, he bounced between corporate America and bartending full time at a high-end gig before returning to Charlotte two years ago. 

“We’d always talked about opening a bar — it just never happened,” he says.

He came across a self-serve taproom in Durham and began to flesh out his own concept; Soni now expects to invest $600,000 into Taproom Social.

The concept will deliver 50 self-serve taps with 40 different beers available. Plans also call for seven wines and Prosecco, a cold-brew coffee option, kombucha and a local soda.

Taproom Social will utilize the iPourIt system. That allows customers to pour as much — or as little as they want opening the door to trying new brews or enjoying old favorites.

“It’s about people who want a different experience. They want to go in and taste and try and experience as many options as they can,” he says.

That self-serve system also is the wave of the future, cutting down on wait time and creating a new niche when it comes to hospitality, Soni says. “People just want to control their own experience.”

It also will have an open kitchen that delivers options such as paninis, salads, charcuterie and cheese and small bites for both kids and adults.

Soni says it’s important to create an atmosphere where people feel comfortable dropping in to work during the day, meet friends for beers after work or stop by with the family on the way to a baseball game.

Soni is already looking for a second location in the Charlotte market.

Rodney Faulkner with Boundary Street Advisors represented Taproom Social on the transaction.

Gais Construction is the general contractor. D3 Studio is the architect.

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