Gene Simmons opening craft beer spot
The guy who gave us "Cold Gin" now wants to give us craft beer.
Gene Simmons, the long-tongued rocker who plays bass and sort of sings in the rock band Kiss, is opening a rock-themed restaurant in the Los Angeles area that will replicate the atmosphere of a rock concert and place a big emphasis on craft beer. (And here I thought the two were mutually exclusive.)
Rock & Brews is slated to open April 3 in El Segundo, Calif. An announcement from the restaurant says it "serves rock musicians' favorite foods and highlights an ever-changing, award-winning craft beer selection with hundreds of artisanal breweries featured from around the world." More than 40 beers will be on tap, with hundreds more in bottles and cans.
A sneak peek of the Rock & Brews' beer list shows it does plan to pour some great beers --excellent brews such as Port Mongo, AleSmith Speedway Stout, and Goose Island Matilda -- alongside a few rock-concert offerings like Michelob Ultra. (Thankfully there's no sign of this on the menu.)
Rock & Brews is already planning to open more locations in the LA area (including one at the airport) as well as in Denver, Atlanta, Maui, Tokyo, and Los Cabos, Mexico. Simmons's partners in the venture are rock promoter Dave Furano and restaurateur Michael Zislis.
Perhaps what's most interesting about this is this little fact: Gene Simmons does not drink. "It's disgusting," he said on his show, "Gene Simmons Family Jewels," when he was finally pressured into trying a beer. On the other hand, the beer he sipped was a Coors.
(Globe staff photo from 2009 by Matthew J. Lee)
Email me at greenlee@globe.com. Follow me on Twitter @SteveGreenlee.
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About 99 BottlesGary Dzen writes about craft beer here and in the Globe when he's not covering the Celtics for Boston.com. He can be reached at gdzen@boston.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeGaryDzen.
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