JACKSON, WY– After much anticipation, the town square Roadhouse Pub & Eatery is up and running! Walking up the spiral staircase of the old Town Square Tavern may feel familiar, but the similarities between the location’s old and new inhabitants stops there. Re-designed by architect Peggy Gilday, the formerly dark tavern, where many a late-night dance party was had, has been transformed into a bright and inviting brew-pub. Their new wood-laid floor and white walls sporting colorful, playful artwork compliment the bright shine of exposed brewing and fermenting tanks that line the south wall. The overall effect is one of welcome.
According to Chef Jesse Rezin, this is exactly their mission. “We don’t want to churn-and-burn,” Rezin said in an interview with Buckrail.
“We want this to be a place where people come for an experience and to spend some time.”
The menu, a collaboration between Fine Dining owners Gavin Fine and Roger Freeman, as well as contributions from Bovine & Swine Chef Joel Tate, Bistro Catering Executive Chef Marc Boussarie and Roadhouse Chefs Jesse Rezin and Kaitlyn Paul, reflects this desire with dishes designed for sharing and, well, pairing. Rezin’s favorite dish? Thai Lettuce Wraps as it showcases their mission: interactive, table sharing dining. As for Chef Kaitlyn Paul’s favorite dish? The Bahn Mi flatbread. Piled with crispy pork, hoisin, white cheddar, slaw and pickled veggies, what’s not to love?
Featuring an assortment of Bovine & Swine products, such as brats, salamis, and chorizo, the collaboration for their elevated comfort food also crosses paths with their brewery. Paul and Rezin are braising their melt-in-your-mouth St. Louis Spare Ribs in Roadhouse Dreaded Beast stout, poaching pears for their Skirt steak in the Raspberry Beret sour, and making the sinful cheese dipping sauce for their Beer Pretzel with Family Vacation.
“They’ve been great to work with,” said Mike Agricola in an interview with Buckrail, who,
alongside head-brewer Max Shafer, is responsible for brewing their beers. “They’re using a lot of beer in the cooking and are also creating items that pair well with our beers.” The beer list, featuring the breweries classics as well as a number of current test-batches, offers suggestion of food pairings for each beer.
Agricola has worked for Fine Dining for a number of years and has finally found his dream job within the company. Now distributing across Wyoming and Idaho, Roadhouse beers are making their way onto shelves in Montana and Colorado with their scopes set on a continued spread of distribution. While the Gregory Lane location is responsible for the production of a handful of fan-favorites for canning, with 30 barrels for brewing and eight fermentation vessels, the town square brewery is where they are playing with new recipes.
“It’s allowing us to push the envelope on making new age beers,” said Agricola. Currently,
they’re working on the “hazy New England trend,” a variety, most commonly associated with Vermont’s “Heady Topper”, that has gained a fast following. “We’re also aiming to do more work with local producers such as Huidekoper Ranch and Vertical Harvest.” Their last beer to feature Huidekoper greens was their Honey Basil Kolsch, a wonderfully crisp, herbaceous and smooth product.
Boasting the only terrace view of Jackson’s iconic Town Square, the Roadhouse is sure to pull a large summer crowd. However, serving lunch from 11:30am to 3pm, an après menu between 3 and 5:30 pm, dinner from 5:30-10pm and late-night tacos until midnight, there’s no doubt it’s a spot that will cater to all diner’s, drinkers, and revelers throughout the day and night. Their extensive and diverse menus will also appeal to all members of your party.
