Dock Street Hops to It
They said it would be loud. They said another bar would draw more drunks. They said it would hamstring a decade of progress around 50th and Baltimore, where boarded-up houses and abandoned storefronts have gradually given way to occupied apartments and progressive businesses. But after some tense negotiations, the Cedar Park neighborhood agreed: A brewpub could be more than an unsavory watering hole. When Dock Street Brewery opened in August after a five-year absence from the city scene, thirsty throngs from Penn and beer buffs citywide flocked to the not-quite-gentrified corner. And, admittedly, with all those geeks yammering in the erstwhile firehouse, it gets pretty loud.
Photograph by Jason Varney