On a recent sunny Saturday afternoon in Celina, things seemed pretty normal. And not in a “new normal” sort of way, either. Inside and outside of Rollertown Beerworks, one of the region’s newest craft breweries, folks were downing suds while college football beamed from the many televisions spread out across the rustic but welcoming taproom. Local radio talk show hosts Ben Rogers and Jeff “Skin” Wade, co-owners of the brewery, were out and about, greeting patrons and adding to the merriment.
On the surface it’s difficult to imagine a scenario as anything but routine, but of course, 2020 has been nothing if not a destructive force to anything remotely routine.
It only took a slightly deeper inspection to get that, yes, the scene was a major example of whatever the new normal has come to be since the COVID-19 pandemic has surged through the spring, summer and into the fall. Face coverings on staff and customers walking away from their tables, a socially distanced seating chart, and seemingly as many bottles of hand sanitizer as cans of to-go beer were clear and present signs of the times.
Such measures weren’t in the plans late last year when the 97.1 KEGL personalities announced their sudsy new endeavor. When occupancy restrictions forced Rogers' and Wade’s taproom doors to remain shut for the brewery’s April opening, it became a to-go curbside event only. Over 7,000 cans worth of Rollertown’s initial quartet of styles sold out immediately.
In July, Rollertown planned to take advantage of looser occupancy restrictions in order to welcome folks in for the July 4th weekend, but tightened measures at the last minute again kept the taproom doors locked. The gubernatorial gut-punch gave the brewery yet another shot to prove itself capable of bouncing back. The beer intended for traditional in-person taproom sales that weekend was quickly canned — 15,000 16-ounce “crowler” cans — and were sold in rather short order via the brewery’s online ordering system.
Finally, in September, Rollertown’s taps flowed open to the public at 50% occupancy, bringing the brewery to the life in the fullest way it can be right now. Simply getting the doors open doesn’t mean the challenges have ceased, of course. Rogers expects more soon, just because they’ve been popping up all along.
“At every turn,” he says over a cup of Rollertown’s Cherry Mojito Sour. “There’s been something that could be devastating happen. We’ve had plenty of catastrophes that have nothing to do with COVID. Just getting a small business up and running is tough enough, and I’m so proud of our team. They’re unbelievable people who are resilient and resourceful.”
And speaking of resourceful, the Cherry Mojito Sour is also offered as a Slurpee-style slush, and we’re not ashamed to admit that we found it to be rather successful.
In a plot twist not often seen in the past few months, Wade actually credits the social climate of the past few months for perhaps helping the brewery get its proverbial feet wet during the course of so many starts and stops.
“I think we’re kind of lucky,” Wade says. “In that the pandemic has sort of set a low bar for everyone’s expectations. I think people have given us a lot of leeway because we did open during a pandemic. People have been patient with us as we work on things and fix things.”
The name of the brewery itself suggests it was not only fully anticipating turbulent times ahead but welcoming the chance to overcome those obstacles.
“The term ‘Rollertown’ is about overcoming obstacles,” Rogers says. “When the Frisco railway came through this region over a century ago, it didn’t care about the small towns it passed when the railroad was plopped down. It wasn’t anywhere near where Celina was at that time, so many businesses were forced to put their buildings on rollers and roll them closer to the new railroad or perish.”
Bringing it to the here and now, Rogers is even more direct about his commitment to where the brewery sits, and where he makes his home.
“We’re Celina, loud and proud, man.”
Originally, Rollertown planned to operate a taproom in a separate building from the brewing facility while partnering with growing, Celina-based barbecue restaurant Tender Smokehouse. But as the pandemic forged ahead, Rollertown had to pivot its food plans. Pop-ups from beloved local outlets such as Proper Baking Company and the occasional food truck will now occupy the culinary space the brewery had initially hoped to pack with smoked meats.
There may be more changes to be made sooner than later, but Wade suggests any such alterations, regardless of scale, are manageable due to the confidence he has in his young business’s chief export. Having a respected head brewer such as Tommy Miller, formerly of Noble Rey Brewing, certainly goes a long way.
“We’re not making many long-term decisions right now,” Wade says. “One thing we can plan around and know that we are set for the long haul with is that the beer is legit. Beyond that, we’ll adjust and change as we need to.”
But the short-term beer plans are pretty promising. Some special fall seasonal beers, including a Belgian Quadruple, will be rolled out soon as Rollertown begins aging some of its already decadent War Daddy stout in whisky barrels from nearby Balcones Distilling.
There are no doubts that local craft breweries must remain nimble and open to shifting goals and guidelines in the near future. That inevitability isn’t as daunting now as it might’ve seemed a few months ago for the new brewery in Celina.
“We’ve had to adapt,” Rogers says. “And at this point, we’re just waiting for the next curveball. At some point, we’ll get punched in the mouth again, but with the all-star team we have here, I feel really good about how we’ll respond.”
Rollertown Beerworks is located at 412 N. Oklahoma Street, #106, Celina. rollertownbeerworks.com.
