When Stanley Beer Hall opened at the end of 2016, the team knew something wasn’t quite right. The space was beautiful, the food was great, the beer was flowing, but it still didn’t feel like a true, neighborhood beer hall.
At the beginning of this year, they decided to change that. The team closed the space for a month to renovate the 4,400 square-foot restaurant and covered 3,600 square-foot patio — most notably, installing a self-serve tap system.
“We are even better equipped to be a true beer hall,” said co-owner Mark Shaker, who is also one of the principal developers of Stanley Marketplace. “This new system makes it easier for our guests to sample different types of craft beer and wine in a fun environment.”
The Renovation
Beer fans may recognize the iPourIt system from First Draft in RiNo or Trails End Taproom in Colorado Springs. The self-serve system allows guests to pour their own brews by the ounce. Each tap has a touch-screen tablet with information on each beer, including tasting notes, ABV, pouring tips and more. Each beer has a price per ounce, allowing you to try multiple options before settling on one.
“The Stanley building was launched in 1954 by Bob Stanley, a pioneer in the aviation industry,” Shaker said. “All of our Stanley businesses are motivated to keep the innovative spirit of Bob Stanley alive, and this new tap system is one of the ways Stanley Beer Hall is doing that.”
In addition to iPourIt, the team refurbished the inside, adding more TVs and communal tables. They added heaters to the expansive outdoor area to make it a year-round spot. They also hired Jim Wright — the former opening director at Union Station — to handle operations surrounding the remodel.
“The changes we’ve made are perfect for the social nature of this community,” Wright said. “It’s easier to rearrange our indoor space for different groups. We think our regulars are going to enjoy the interactive nature of our new tap system and the ways we’ve reconfigured the space.”
The Food & Drinks
The new “beverage wall” has 25 beer taps — our beer writer, Alysia Shoemaker, noted that there’s a nice variety of styles that stay predominantly local. She enjoyed the regular and light nitro, and she was impressed to see gluten-free beer included.
The wall isn’t all about beer, though. It also has seven wine taps, a cider tap, two rotating cocktail taps (which includes a pour-your-own margarita tap), a nitro coffee tap and a kombucha tap. Many of the options (including the beers) will rotate regularly to keep things interesting.
The menu got a slight facelift as well, keeping comfort food favorites like the award-winning burger (and we loved the candied bacon BLAT), but there are new additions like a Syrian hummus and mezze platter, ginger soy salmon, a vegetarian Panang curry, pork belly street tacos and chocolate-covered bacon.
Stanley Beer Hall is located at 2501 Dallas Street #100, Aurora. It is open Monday through Thursday, 11:30 until 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. The bar will remain open one hour later than the restaurant.
All photos by Kyle Cooper, unless otherwise noted.