Acoustic series launches at The Foodery’s Roxborough shop

 Give Me Gravity performs an acoustic number on Saturday night. (Carrie Hagen/for NewsWorks)

Give Me Gravity performs an acoustic number on Saturday night. (Carrie Hagen/for NewsWorks)

On Saturday, beer and music enthusiasts gathered around the front tables of The Foodery for the second in a series of acoustic shows hosted at the Roxborough shop.

In an effort to increase its customer base six months after opening, General Manager Young Kim has been offering the space to local music groups looking for extra exposure. Kim said the thought of booking bands at the site sparked when he first saw the store’s huge space; of The Foodery’s four Philadelphia locations, the Roxborough location is the largest.

“We’re trying to do new things every week,” said Kim, as he talked about capitalizing on the neighborhood’s interest. This includes rotating the beers on tap and talking about different brewing styles over free samples.

This Saturday’s show featured Give Me Gravity, a Roxborough band consisting of five rockers who started performing together last year. In March of this year, WMMR named the group “Artist of the Month”. The band’s two vocalists – singers Thomas Howley and Andrew Bondarev – live less than a block away from The Foodery, which they say they visit every other day for the beer selection and deli.

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On tap Saturday night was the store’s most popular brew, Rivertowne’s Hali Kahiki, a pineapple beer. Customers were also drinking Naked Brewing’s “Gentleman,” an apple brandy stout, and Thomas Creek’s Banana Split Chocolate Stout. As the crowd asked for pints and growler refills, patrons were full of questions about the store’s growler filler. According to Kim, Roxborough’s Foodery is one of only two locations in Pennsylvania to use the PEGAS CrafTap, a Russian design that infuses containers with carbon dioxide. Its counter-pressure method removes foam as it fills, so buyers get more beer for their buck, and it also preserves carbonation for weeks.

One area couple, Ryan and Shannon, said the CrafTap was a major draw for the neighborhood. Over raspberry wheat ale and a Founders IPA, they said they had driven past the store for months before stopping in that evening. Until this weekend, Ryan drove to the northeast to get his craft beer. While he is used to his routine, he’ll stop going to his former stomping ground. 

“It doesn’t beat someplace local,” Ryan said.

Artists interested in performing at the Roxborough Foodery can contact the store at 215-482-4500.

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