OCEAN CITY – The Taphouse Bar & Grille brand is continuing its evolvement this summer with the addition of the 4th Street Taphouse on the Boardwalk.
The 9th Street Taphouse in Ocean City opened off the Boardwalk in April 2011. Then came the 45th Street Taphouse, which opened in the 45th Street Village on the Bay in March 2012, which also now contains OC Steamers that opened in June 2012 and Assawoman Bay Brewing Company that opened in July 2014, and now the newest addition is 4th Street Taphouse that opened on June 11 of this year.
All locations are owned by the Sibony family, which also owns Sunsations, the 45th Street Village on the Bay and other properties in Ocean City, and Director of Operations Jeff Burton has been there since the beginning getting all the restaurants underway and making way for new additions.
“We thought this is a great front location on the Boardwalk and with our other location on 45th Street that everybody knows, we thought we would get a good reception here,” Burton said of 4th Street Taphouse. “It has been very successful so far, which is why we have been growing the way we are. Fourth of July is coming up, and our numbers are getting better and better every day here. I am excited.”
Where the former Hampton House stood on the Boardwalk is now the location of 4th Street Taphouse and a new Sunsations with underground parking. Demolition of the Hampton House and new construction spanned over 18 months.
“We built this thinking if we got more people to know Taphouse it would be easier for us to expand,” Burton said. “In Ocean City a lot of focus is on the Boardwalk … and not everybody knows the Taphouse yet as we have only been open three and half years, but we are starting to get a good reputation and a good following … we are looking to build a concept that we can carry on and grow.”
As far as the menu and craft beer selection goes, the concept was indeed carried over from the other Taphouse locations.
There are 36 craft brews on tap with six being from the company’s own Assawoman Bay Brewing Company. The selection of craft beers is primarily local breweries ranging no farther than 150 to 200 miles from Ocean City.
“We are a craft beer restaurant with a lot of our dishes wrapped around the beer that we serve ourselves,” Burton said.
For example, the Taphouse Wings, which have been voted the Best Wings by OceanCity.com, are marinated in blonde ale for 48 hours before being seasoned, baked, deep-fried and sauced to order.
The Bayside Blonde Ale Shrimp features domestic shrimp steamed in Bayside Blonde Ale with Old Bay seasoning and onions.
Popular menu items remain the Fish In Chips, three Alaskan cod strips, dipped in beer batter and rolled in crumbled house-made Old Bay potato chips, served with an Old Bay tartar sauce, and the Taphouse Pretzels, four Bavarian pretzel sticks, served with Guinness spicy mustard and a National Bohemian cheese on the side.
Breakfast is served as well at 4th Street Taphouse with the menu featuring the classic items, breakfast sandwiches and breakfast “brewrittos.”
“Breakfast has probably been the strongest here so far,” Burton said. “We have a well-rounded family-friendly menu with competitive prices.”
With the addition of 4th Street Taphouse, Burton isn’t scared to admit the number of Taphouses hasn’t reached its limit yet.
“We aren’t done. We will probably be building another Taphouse or two down the road but for now we are concentrating on what we have and making the best out of it,” he said.
The 4th Street Taphouse serves breakfast from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and serves lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
For more information visit their website at www.45taphouse.com or their Facebook page, 4th Street Taphouse Bar & Grille.