The Yard House restaurant officially opens Sunday, March 24 at 11 a.m. for lunch, dinner and late-night dining.
Yard House is the creation of founder and entrepreneur Steele Platt, who came up with the concept shortly after relocating from Denver, Colorado to Southern California in the early 1990s.
Platt, along with partners Harald Herrmann and Carlito Jocson, wanted to create a restaurant that would offer one of the largest selections of draft beers, a diverse menu of American fare, and play a heady selection of classic rock music on a state-of-the-art sound system. On December 7, 1996, the flagship Yard House opened along the Long Beach waterfront in Southern California.
The restaurant took its name from the 3-foot-tall glass containers originally designed in Great Britain and used to hand stagecoach drivers after a long journey by horse drawn carriage. Each Yard House location features a center island bar and an endless fleet of tap handles ranging from classic lagers to more obscure ales.
The glass-enclosed keg room is essentially the pulse of the operation housing as much as 5,000 gallons of beer at a time. Three to five miles of individual beer lines stretch overhead from the keg room to the island bar maintaining a constant temperature of 34-36 degrees keeping the beer consistently fresh and perfectly chilled for every pint. Guests can sip their favorite draft beer from the popular half-yard, traditional pint or six pack sampler.
Keg Day is 3/12/13
- There is one morning, before each Yard House opens, when the trucks pull up and the kegs load in.
- This Keg Day video goes behind the scenes with the team as they tap in all of the craft, imported and specialty beer kegs for a new Yard House location:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6IMIVGyMn0
- Installation of 250 beer kegs
- Local brews include Angry Orchard, Mt. Carmel, Rivertown and Christian Moerlein
- Arrival of 700 spirit bottles and 56 cases of wine
- The processes
- Each keg is carefully tagged with the date and name of distributor
- They also receive a number with the corresponding tap handle on the beer head
- The Yard House’s calling card is its unique beer system featuring a glass-enclosed Keg Room housing hundreds of steel barrels
- The beer is transported from this location through miles of overhead steel and nylon tubing, which feeds into the taps at the center island bar
Cincinnati Opening
- Yard House at The Banks will host a pair of invitation-only, pre-celebration parties on Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23 from 5-8 p.m. with the public getting a sneak peek both evenings after 8 p.m.
- The restaurant officially opens Sunday, March 24 at 11 a.m. for lunch, dinner and late-night dining
- The restaurant is located at The Banks at 95 East Freedom Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202
- The American fusion menu features more than 100 items including soups, salads, sandwiches, street tacos, fresh seafood, pasta and rice dishes, steak and poultry as well as a selection of fresh fish.
- Guests can also enjoy an array of gluten-sensitive options as well as vegetarian dishes made with gardein™, a blend of garden vegetables and protein that have the look, taste and texture of beef and poultry
- Yard House also offers a selection of small, shareable plates from its Snacks menu along with a popular Happy Hour where select, full-serving appetizers are offered at half-price
General Yard House
- Yard House is an upscale, casual eatery known for great food, classic rock music and a draught beer offering that features over 125 craft ales and lagers
- Yard House is one of the fastest growing casual restaurant chains in the nation with a concept that seems to resonate with guests
- The first Yard House location opened in 1996 along the Long Beach waterfront just south of Los Angeles
- Today there are 43 units in 16 states, with the home office located in Irvine, California
- Yard House, the recipient of several industry awards, has also received glowing reviews in both the consumer and the trade press
Facts at a glance
- President: Harald Herrmann
- Executive Chef: Carlito Jocson
- Headquarters: Irvine, Orange County, California
- Website: www.yardhouse.com
- Founded: 1996
- Holdings: 43 units/16 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
- Employees: 5,500
- Average Check per Person: $14 lunch/$22 dinner