When we open (which, as some of you already know, started yesterday...in soft-open form. pls have patience with us as we work out the kinks. and pls read on....), this is how it should go down for you, Bierkeller friends, family, and Stammtisch subscribers:

Arriving: Take Huger/Taylor (or follow your GPS) to the Canalside/Sola Station complex. You'll see the big entry gate with CANALSIDE across the top and our big flags hanging down either side. Enter through the gate and continue straight, following the flags, until you dead-end into Canalside St. The Biergarten will be right in front of you. If entering from RIverfront Park, follow the signs described below.

(FREE) Parking: Also right in front of you will be the first BIERKELLER PARKING ---> sign. Follow this sign until you see another one at the next dead-end. Follow it until you see the next sign. This one will point you into the Canalside Parking garage. Park anywhere in the garage. Level 1 can be full(ish) but there are 100s of empty (and shady) spots on levels 2, 3, 4, and 5. Surface parking also exists but is very limited. Again, all parking is FREE.

Entering the Biergarten: From the parking garage, exit by foot by following the signs to the southwest corner closest to the Canal. Signs read "Exit" and "Retail Walkway." Do not exit through the main entrance you drove through. That's the opposite direction. From the exits, you will be within sight of the Biergarten. The Biergarten can be entered through the small gate with the flower planters or really from any direction.

Seating: Find a seat anywhere and sit down. Well, anywhere that isn't reserved by our Stammtisch subscribers. Reserved Stammtisch tables are indicated by a set of small plaques on the bottom right-hand corners listing the group name(s), day(s), and time(s) they are reserved. If you arrive outside of any of those times, the tables can be used by non-Stammtisch guests. But if it is during a reserved time, please leave them open. If you are a Stammtisch subscriber, follow the written chart and instructions we sent through the client portal or reach out to us and we'll advise further. Only ca. 20% of our nearly 500 spots are reserved, so you'll almost certainly find a seat. The beauty of our (and any true) Biergarten is you can get "in" and relax even before you get your Bier and/or food. If you want to sit on the grass you are free to do so. If you want to stand along the plaza at most any spot, you are free to do that as well.

Eating...and Drinking: You have 2 main ways of getting Bier and food: the walk-up outside windows facing the Biergarten, or our indoor market-style counters. Both areas pour all our beers, but the outside Biergarten food menu serves a more limited selection. So...if you wanna stay outdoors and eat and drink there, you're set and settled in at this point. If you are seated inside, you can again grab a (non-stammtisch) seat, and serve yourself at our indoor service windows. There are 6 total windows: 3 for beer (year-round, seasonals, and guest beers and wines (and sodas)); and 3 for food (snacks, salads and sandwiches, and sausages and mains like schnitzel and rotisserie chicken). If you want just beer or beer and food, enter the line far left and proceed down the line selecting your drink(s) and meals from the windows. If you want food only, enter near the center of the line and proceed down the line to pay. Signage will direct you here as well.

Paying: You can pay with card or with our traditional Biertokens. You can also buy additional Biertokens at the payment stations/windows. THERE IS NO LONGER A TOKEN TENT, so purchase at the payment stations. Tokens are sold in sets of 4. As an added bonus, you get a small discount for using tokens. So stock up. If you have old tokens, we still accept those. As we've said many times over the years, they're always good. We accept all major forms of payment and cash.

Relaxing: When you have your seat and your beer and your food and your tokens, simply sit back and relax. Whether you're seated in our shaded Biergarten, in our Bistro section along the canal and under the awnings, or inside in our spacious and welcoming (and gemütlich) Bierhall, you're gonna want to settle in and stay a while. As is done in traditional Biergartens throughout Germany.

And, now, right here in our fair city.

PROST! Columbi-Ja! 

(NOTE: The first few weeks we will be in soft-open mode. That means we're still working out the kinks and have a limited beer and food menu at times. Please be patient as we learn together. Prost.