Monica Dien
Staff Writer
The Lordsburg Taphouse and Grill will take over the D Street home of T. Phillips Alehouse, which recently closed its doors.
The Taphouse, scheduled to open by the end of the month, promises to have various new menu items and a variety of beers.
The restaurant will feature a trendy but old school ambience, high quality ingredients and possibly wi-fi in the near future, said its manager.
“We’re new and improved and we’re going to be better than T. Philips with lots of beers on tap,” said Bryan Fredericksen, bar manager.
“It’s going to be upscale, casual dining and we’re hoping to bring in the family and college crowd.”
The new restaurant features high white ceilings with intricate dark wood trimmings, creating an ambience that restaurant owner Mike McAdams describes as, “Mad Men meets La Verne.”
McAdam’s wife and co-owner of the restaurant, Britt McAdams, also described the eatery as a homage to the city of La Verne.
“Everything in it is going to be about La Verne,” she said.
“All our photos in the restaurant are of La Verne, from new to old photos.”
In addition to its renovated interiors, the menu will feature a selection of American cuisine including hamburgers, pastas, steaks, and some of the fare from the former T. Philips
“We’ve given our chef, Rolando, a certain leeway with coming up with new, fresh and delicious dishes,” Mike McAdams said.
“It’s going to be more homemade and we’re going to use high quality ingredients like Harrah’s Ranch Beef, which will be one of our featured upgrades.”
The owners also hope to interact with the college crowd better by featuring student chefs from local schools.
“We look forward to having guest chefs from schools and let them cook whatever their specialty is or let them come up with something so that we can put it on the menu for that night,” Mike McAdams said.
McAdams and Fredericksen are also in the workings of installing a more sophisticated wi-fi system in the restaurant.
“We want students to be able to come in and open up their laptops and do their homework or do some research.”
The McAdams’ decided to take over the restaurant after the previous owner of T. Phillips approached them with an offer.
“It was … an opportunity,” Mike McAdams said.
“We weren’t seeking to be the owners but I’ve lived here my whole life,” Britt McAdams said.
The restaurant is set to open between May 20 to the 25, the McAdams’ said.
Students who show their university I.D. will receive a 10 percent discount.
“It’s a labor of love and we’re just hoping that everybody shows up,” Mike McAdams said.
Monica Dien can be reached at monica.dien@laverne.edu.
