Why I Love Downtown Arlington: Drew Campbell

Although I wasn’t born here, I’ve always considered Arlington, Texas home. Whether I was attending my mother’s 1995 School of Nursing graduation from the University of Texas at Arlington or graduating from UTA myself years later, I spent a lot of time at a lot of places up and down Cooper St. and its surrounding avenues. While at UTA, I worked at The Shorthorn and learned a lot about the area, its people, and its culture. Like most college students, I also learned a lot about beer.

Arlington always had hidden gems for beer spots (I’m looking at you, Caves Lounge), but back then if you wanted a wide variety, you would have to go to either Dallas or Fort Worth to tickle your fancy. This is why, years later, when my wife (Ren), best friend (Jas) and I were scouting locations for a growler bar and taproom, our eyes were focused on Downtown Arlington. We wanted to provide a large selection of rotating drafts from the exploding DFW craft beer scene. Downtown Arlington made the most sense because of the central location, the visitors to the sports arenas, the nearby university, and the two newly opened breweries. Four years later, we’re still providing a fun, clean, and safe spot for craft beer enthusiasts to try out the latest and greatest our wonderful breweries have to offer.

The past year has been a challenge to us all. We’ve been pushing our creativity on how to continue serving Arlington the best craft drafts in a safe manner. Luckily, we were able to stay open for to-go orders for most of 2020 with our wonderful customers’ support. With some law changes, we were also able to pivot from a bar to a restaurant to provide sit-down service. Thanks to our amazing staff, we were able to implement new safety and cleaning measures to provide an even cleaner experience. 

This week we are celebrating 4 years in Downtown Arlington. We love this community and the people we’ve met. We will continue to bring unique brews to our tap wall. In the works are a few new Downtown Arlington collaborations with the local breweries. We’re lucky to have both Legal Draft and Division as partners, bringing in all walks of life to our grand city. Keep an eye out for great things!

Image from On Tap's Facebook page.