Lansdale Brewery Round Guys Toasts Grand Opening

Ben Franklin said it best: Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

Proof was in the pints Saturday afternoon with all the happy faces gracing the grand opening of Lansdale brewery Round Guys Brewing Co.

Local and state dignitaries were on hand — Lansdale Mayor Andy Szekely, Councilmen Dan Dunigan and Jason Van Dame, Sen. Bob Mensch and Rep. Bob Godshall — at the 1 p.m. ribbon cutting.

The day was filled with full taps, giveaways, raffle prizes, contests and more. The Fermentors also rocked the place Saturday night.

"We’ve basically been open for about a year, and we're celebrating our first year anniversary and officially putting our mark in Lansdale," said brewery co-owner Rich DiLiberto. "We are having a great day with lots of prizes and the launch of our new menu."

DiLiberto said the menu now features more appetizers, more snacks, more soups and more sandwiches.

"People want to come in and grab something quick to eat, and they have a lot more options now," DiLiberto said.

Co-owner Scott Rudich said Round Guys has been licensed for a year, but it took them a while to "get feet underneath us."

"We were understanding how this business works. Now, we are able to say we've got everything together," he said.

Success goes beyond the limits of Lansdale Borough. Round Guys is now distributing in five counties in Pennsylvania, including Lancaster and the Lehigh Valley. All in all, Round Guys has 31 beers registered in Pennsylvania, including Black IPA, Saison Tripel, English brown ale, Berlinerweiss and German Altbier.

"We've grown with a number of styles," Rudich said. "Today, we are launching our Double IPA and our spring seasonals will be out shortly." 

DiLiberto said more people got to know where Round Guys is in Lansdale over the past year; they have latched onto the location and enjoy going there.

"We hear a lot of 'There's a brewery in Lansdale!' They didn't know that before," he said.

Rudich said what people like about Round Guys is it is a place to visit and hang out.

"There's good beer and they can get some food. That's what we wanted to make it," he said, "a neighborhood bar."

DiLiberto said opening Round Guys has been more work than he and Rudich thought it was going to be at first.

"It has definitely exceeded our expectations of what we thought it would be," he said. 

Mensch presented Rudich and DiLiberto with a citation for its grand opening from the state Senate.

"We welcome another small business in Lansdale," Mensch said. "It's a wonderful thing. It's a place where people can congregate and get together. Round Guys is a great small business, going well beyond the boundaries of Lansdale." 

Godshall was glad that Round Guys exists in Lansdale.

"They worked hard in getting this place. There were a lot of setbacks in the beginning, which we helped to work out," he said. "When we can bring facilities into the town, it's going to help with revitalization. And Lansdale is doing more than any Montgomery County municipality as far as revitalizing the town."

Szekely said Round Guys got its first taste of Lansdale at the Oktoberfest and Lansdale Beer Tasting Festival events.

"We worked with them to find a suitable space for them, and this is what we came up with," he said, gripping a pint inside the former Lauchman's Printing location on South Wood Street. "They opened up last July, and have been an asset ever since."

Szekely said every community should have its own brewery.

"It's a draw for Lansdale," he said. "The more restaurants you have, and the more eating and drinking establishments, the more people you will get in. People need to eat everyday, but they don't necessarily need to drink everyday. While people may frequent shops like furniture, jewelry, antiques and clothing stores once a month, the more restaurants and drinking establishments you have, the more overflow you have and the more support for other retail."