Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants Go Global
Published Mar 03, 2008
At Gordon Biersch brewery restaurants, a pint of lager can help tame a serving of garlic french fries.
Gordon Biersch brewery restaurants are known for microbrew beer and made-from-scratch food, and soon this successful brand will be available overseas.
In August 2007, the Chattanooga-based Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group signed a licensing agreement that will take Gordon Biersch to Taiwan in 2008, with further plans for mainland China and beyond.
“While certain elements of the building will differ due to local requirements, the key design elements, kitchen and brewery equipment will all be consistent with Gordon Biersch brewery restaurants in the United States,” says Mike Curtis, vice president of marketing.
In addition, Gordon Biersch’s plans for domestic growth are on track; new locations are scheduled to open in the Dallas, Kansas City, Phoenix and Myrtle Beach, S.C., markets by spring 2008.
Gordon Biersch got its start in 1988 when founders Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch – with a vision for a restaurant that served exceptional beer and delicious food – opened the first Gordon Biersch in Palo Alto, Calif.
Big River Brewing Co. of Chattanoooga acquired the restaurants in 1999 and changed the name to Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group.
Most of the privately held company’s 35 restaurants in 16 states brew beer on site, and those that don’t are close enough to other Gordon Biersch microbreweries to get fresh beer regularly, Curtis says.
The microbreweries primarily produce lagers, which take longer to brew because of the fermentation process – and they also brew their beers according to the German Reinheitsgebot beer purity law dating back nearly 500 years.
It was the success of the first downtown Chattanooga location, Curtis says, that led to dramatic growth and acquisition of the Gordon Biersch brewery restaurants.
“The Chattanooga community provides a vibrant culture and business community that serves as home to three of our locations,” he says.
The Gordon Biersch brand is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2008.
Story by Rebecca Denton
Photo by Wes Aldridge
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