Sours, ciders and stouts galore. New restaurant and sports bar opens near Mercer
Touting a plethora of beer choices, good food, fun times and multiple TV screens, a new restaurant and sports bar is now open near Mercer University.
The Library Taphouse and Kitchen at 1530 Mercer University Drive, Suite 300, is currently under a soft opening “to get everything running smoothly to having every beer on tap,” said co-owner Ron Whidby.
“This also works out the kinks to make sure we can produce the best service possible so anything we’re overlooking or forgetting, we can fix ... before the grand opening.”
The grand opening is Friday.
Whidby is also the co-owner of the popular Cashman’s Pub at 370 Cherry St. in downtown Macon about two miles from The Library Taphouse and Kitchen, which is just off Interstate 75.
Additionally, Whidby and a business partner are gearing up to open another new restaurant, Sophia’s on Second Street, at the former spot of Lazy Susan’s Tapas Bar at 428 Second St.
The beer
At the Library Taphouse and Kitchen, 101 beers will soon be available on tap.
“They’re not all full yet,” Whidby said. “But once they’re all full, we’ll have everything from sours to ciders to IPA’s to blonde ales … There will be a wide variety.”
The new restaurant and sports bar opened in the former Growlers USA spot and inherited their taps.
But unlike Growlers, which as a franchise was only allowed to offer craft beer, Whidby, an independent owner, will serve all types of beer.
“I’m going to sell everything from Bud Light to Michelob Ultra to your specialty beers,” Whidby said. “We’re going to focus a lot on carrying Georgia-owned beer.”
Customers can expect brews from across Georgia from Eagle Creek Brewing Company in Statesboro to Fall Line Brewing Co. and Piedmont Brewery & Kitchen both in downtown Macon.
Similar to how a library is filled with books, the name of this new spot reflects the vast number of beers it offers.
The food
The menu features appetizers from pulled pork sliders to firecracker shrimp to loaded nachos as well as sandwiches, wraps and burgers with names like the Bookworm, Page Turner and Study Jam.
The Bookworm is a grilled chicken breast with bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and “Library sauce” served on a bun.
The Page Turner is a burger with two steak patties, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and a house-made “Bear sauce,” while the Study Jam is two steak patties, cheese, peanut butter and ”Library jam.”
“It’s different from Cashman’s in that we’re doing smash burgers here,” Whidby said.
Smash burgers are made by forming ground beef into balls, then pressing or smashing the beef into a thin patty on a grill to sear in flavor while creating more browning.
Other smash burgers on the menu include the Bacon Bear Burger, two steak patties, bacon, cheese, grilled onion and “Bear sauce,” and the Brunch Burger, a single steak patty, fried egg, bacon and cheese. The Bacon Bear Burger and Bear sauce are obvious nods to the Mercer’s bear mascot.
The menu also includes salads— house, Caesar, club, Fuji apple and Cobb — with choice of dressing.
Also served are fries loaded with a variety of toppings from pulled barbecue pork to fried chicken to Philly cheese steak, wings tossed in a variety of sauce choices, and tenders that may be tossed or served with a dipping sauce.
Cashman’s Executive Chef Reginald Perkins is also over The Library Taphouse and Kitchen.
“They should expect the same quality food, good service as at Cashman’s,” Whidby said. “The biggest thing we push is good food, fun times and being able to watch the games.”
The Library Taphouse and Kitchen boasts 11 TVs.
Current hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. When Monday night football starts, the restaurant and sports bar is expected to also be open on Mondays.
This story was originally published June 13, 2022 at 11:01 AM.