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When Kris Romo and Alex Englund moved to Pacifica in 2020, they noticed there wasn’t a place to enjoy a beer and have a conversation. So they made their own.
Sharp Park Taproom opened Nov. 1 in a former gym, offering local beers and bypassing big distributors. Romo and Englund’s goal is to support local brewers, many of which are within a 20-mile radius of the taproom, as well as provide a community gathering space for the people of Sharp Park neighborhood.
The taproom, described as “industrial” by Romo, offers nine taps with a beer menu that changes every day. Expect brews from places such as Sacramento-based Urban Roots, San Francisco-based Harmonic, Half Moon Bay-based Hop Dogma and Pacifica-based Rockaway Brewery, as well as a mix of pilsners, West Coast IPAs, hazy IPAs, sours, saisons and nonalcoholic options ($8-$9 for a full pour, $5-$7 for a schooner).
“We’re not using big distributors, we’re going directly to the brewer, or the brewer is coming to us,” Romo said. “So we’re cutting out the middleman and hopefully helping the smaller breweries get noticed and get more business.”
Sharp Park Taproom’s opening comes shortly after Coastside breweries Sacrilege and Blue Ocean announced permanent closure. Despite these closures, Romo said the “demand for beer is pretty remarkably high around here.”
While Englund curates the taplist – his background is in the beer industry and has worked at Harmonic, Hop Dogma and Olfactory – Romo developed the food program. While the kitchen doesn’t have a hood or fryer, it does have a convection oven and panini press.
Expect sea salt potato chips and tortilla chips from Gilberth’s Latin Fusion in San Francisco, served with Romo’s housemade green onion dip, salsa fresca or chili con queso ($5-$8). Other food options include various loaded potato bites, pretzel nuggets and sourdough square pizzas from a local maker ($7.50-$11).
Sharp Park Taproom also partners with food trucks Thursday to Sunday, such as Chido’s Pizza, Mezclá Eats, Mama’s Papas, Malwa Chai and Zulys Goodies.
“Pacifica has a lot of good food, it’s just not a lot of variety,” Romo said. “The food trucks bring a different variety of food to Pacifica, where you can’t typically get it on a normal day.”
The 36-seat taproom has a 17-foot ash wood bar, a TV playing sports, a variety of board games, dog-friendly outdoor seating and a mural hand-painted by Romo. The mural features a rainbow, with colors representing how Romo sees Sharp Park: Orange and yellow is the sunshine, green is the Sharp Park Golf Course and mountains and blue is the ocean. The background of the mural is gray, representing the fog.
“I want it to be a family place. Children are absolutely welcome. Dogs are welcome outside,” Romo said. “We just want it to be a community gathering space. I want people to feel comfortable and safe and be welcomed.”
Sharp Park Taproom, 100 Santa Rosa Ave., #3, Pacifica; Instagram: @sharpparktaproom. Open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 4-8:30 p.m., Friday from 3-9 p.m., Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 7:30 p.m.
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