This has been a long time in the works, and the team over at Sonder has been working their butts off to try to find the perfect spot for their next taproom. When the world shut down in 2020 (you do remember that, right?) a massive part of how the brewery adapted to the changes was to load up their cars and hit the road delivering their beer to customers who purchased it online.

This adaptation was a much-needed service for folks like me who were craving, not just a great beer, but a little bit of connection with the breweries that we loved in the process. It also had a second result that was a surprise bit of data for the brewery. They got to see where their most die-hard customers were ordering from – and they found themselves delivering in West Chester a lot. When the planning for their second location kicked back in after things started to loosen up after the shutdown… West Chester was a clear choice.

Why The Spot Makes A Ton Of Sense

The area right off the Union Center exit of 75 is hoppin’, to say the least. Top Golf and the other local attractions bring in plenty of folks who are pretty thirsty when they finish up (not to mention the mass of people who live in the area). Sonder is going to be an excellent addition to the area, taking advantage not only of the built-in traffic that already exists, but using the excitement that the craft-community-within-the-community that’s building in the northern suburbs to expand the bubble even more.

I might be a little biased, living “north of the wall” up in Fairfield – but it’s not just that this will put a Sonder taproom a little closer to home for me. I think that there is some really fun stuff happening up north of the city – and this continues to help showcase that. Any person who hasn’t been to the area to hang out for a day with a few drinks in their hand is missing out – hopefully, this cuts that number down.

I think this addition to the area will be great for the city of West Chester, it’ll be great for their neighbors, DogBerry who have been flying the West Chester torch for eight years, now. It’s going to be great for us as drinkers!

What Can We Expect

This taproom is going to be a smaller, and more “grown up-oriented” version of their Mason taproom. They’ll still be serving up the beer that you love, alongside a new food program of shareable foods including some gluten-free and Vegan options.

Don’t mistake, though… it’s still family-friendly. They’ll have a kid’s menu and everything – but with the added focus on wine and bourbon, it leans towards a different atmosphere that a lot of their customers are craving. It’s a nice drift away from the current Sonder space, while still holding true to the personality of it that made people latch on in the first place!

The new space that they’re dubbing the “Sonder Taphaus and Kitchen” will be located right in the middle of the “Streets of West Chester” development area, adjacent to Holtman’s Donuts, and across from TopGolf. It’s right off I-75 and will provide a perfect billboard effect for the brewery as you’re zipping along the highway.

When Is It Going to Open?

This is always the big question, and usually, a tough one to accurately answer with a project like this. The “right” answer currently is “sometime this year”. Once all the permitting is approved, and construction can kick off, we’ll have a little better an idea (and you know I’ll keep you updated). In the meantime, make sure that you’re following Sonder on social media where they’ll have the latest news!