Yards Brewing and Lokal Artisan Foods Make History With New French Toast Bites Ale
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What started out as a freshly made street food treat in Philadelphia has now found its way onto the beer scene just in time for summer! Yards Brewing Company and Lokal Artisan Foods have joined forces to collaborate on the release of the new French Toast Bites Ale - a smooth and malty collab inspired by the famous French Toast Bites sold at Cherry Street Pier, Spruce Street Harbor Park, Made in America, St. Joe's University, Better Box, Philadelphia Night Market and Bronx Night Market. The new beer captures the delicious flavors of sugar and spice and everything nice - with comforting notes of maple syrup, rich brown sugar, spicy cinnamon and delicate vanilla. The beer will be available in 16 ounce cans (four-pack), plus in kegs and sixtels. Yards will produce the beer year-round out of its brewery at 500 Spring Garden Street. Look for it in grocery stores, bottle shops, bars and restaurants throughout Philadelphia, Eastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey and Delaware. goPuff has stepped in to make a major purchase of the beer to support the Black-owned business, and the beer is confirmed to be sold at Acme and Total Wine. Yards will carry cans and drafts at the taproom and shop at 500 Spring Garden Street. Yards Brewing and Lokal Artisan Foods celebrate the new partnership and new beer with a free French Toast Bites giveaway on the first day of release, Thursday, May 20th. From 5:00pm to 7:00pm, enjoy free French Toast Bites with unlimited toppings outside Yards’ Spring Garden location when you buy a four-pack or order a draft. For more about Lokal Artisan Foods and French Toast Bites, visit www.lokalartisanfoods.com. For more about Yards Brewing Company, visit www.yardsbrewing.com.
“When we met Charisse, we were drawn to her spirit and positive energy, and immediately felt that our values and interests were really well aligned,” said Yards Brewing Company CEO Trevor Prichett. “As a small player in a big field, at Yards we are all about promoting Philadelphia’s hometown companies and entrepreneurs, and we are proud to brew in collaboration with Charisse and to bring her ingenuity to beer lovers throughout our region. A big thanks to Dave Goldman at Urban Village Brewing Company for introducing us to Charisse and helping to kick start this partnership.”
French Toast Bites Ale is a collaboration brew that brings together two of Philadelphia's most well-known and celebrated food and beer companies. The collaboration brew is a result of months of development work between Charisse and the brewing team at Yards. The end result is an "anytime" amber-colored ale that clocks in at 5.5% ABV. The cinnamon, sugar and vanilla infused beer is perfect for anytime - from breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and all points in between. Yards wanted to create an entirely new beer that was completely inspired by and that celebrates the deliciousness of Philly's famous French Toast Bites.
This all-new release is the second beer inspired by McGill's famous bites. Last year, McGill debuted a limited edition small batch run that was an overnight, runaway sensation that sold out in just over 24 hours. For this new beer and partnership, McGill will see the spirit and flavor of her Bites celebrated in the new ale that will go from 366 cases last year to Yards' initial production order of 2,500 cases. In the first launch of sales, Yards reports immense interest with orders pouring in and confirmed for over 1,000 cases. Yards also confirmed that they are ramping up production for the next initial shipment and they see lots of room for growth and expansion, teasing even possible other flavors for French Toast Bites Ale. For McGill, the partnership is a dream come true during such a challenging time during the pandemic.
"I am excited and thrilled to collaborate with Yards Brewing Company on the new French Toast Bites Ale," said McGill. "Last year, during my first baby-steps into the beer business, I was overwhelmed at the amazing interest and fast response to my first beer. I was yielding calls, emails and DM's from people all over Pennsylvania and the country. It was such an amazing process that came during one of the worst years in all of our lives. My pivot journey had me looking onwards and upwards each and every day - and that journey led me to connect with the amazing folks at Yards Brewing Company. Yards wanted to support another Philly business. I am so thankful to Trevor, Tom and the entire Yards team as French Toast Bites Ale heads across the state and into New Jersey and Delaware. I am so proud that we will be positioned to have not one, not two, but three French Toast Bites products on grocery shelves going forward - with the beer, the spice and soon the brand-new coffee with Bean2Bean. I am also so thankful for goPuff for continuing to partner with me and support my business - as they pick up a big order of the new beer with Yards."
For McGill, the debut of the new beer makes her the first and the only black female in the state of Pennsylvania with her own signature beer. The debut of the new beer is also part of the expansive pivot story for the black-owned, female-owned small and local business operating out of the Philadelphia market. From a devastating loss of special event income for her French Toast Bites business, to a major pivots and grand openings, and now to the debut of this beer, the entrepreneur is getting out of the box, getting creative, working hard and ensuring her success in a year filled with challenges for the hospitality business as a whole.
News of French Toast Bites Ale comes hot on the heels of McGill's grand opening of her new French Toast Bites at Cherry Street Pier and her second season opening of her location at Spruce Street Harbor Park. While the two locations do not carry the beer due to licensing, the beer is available as a selection at FCM Hospitality's The Garden at Cherry Street Pier, and the Yards Brewing Company taproom and shop is only just up the street on Spring Garden.
French Toast Bites Ale is available for purchase at Yards’ taproom and shop with four-pack cans retailing at Yards for $13.99 and $7 per print on draft.
Beyond Yards’ homebase in Northern Liberties, look for French Toast Bites at grocery stores, bottle shops, bars and restaurants in the coming days and weeks. ACME and Total Wine have both committed to selling the beer, and goPuff has picked up a major order of the beer for home delivery - as they did for the first release by McGill.
"I am so thankful to our friends at goPuff for stepping up and supporting small independent Black and female owned businesses like mine," said McGill. "You know you have something special when people can find you on goPuff and have your product on-demand and delivered right to their front door. It is almost a surreal feeling when I get texts from friends and people around the city saying they are ordering French Toast Bites Ale. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure all of this is real. I am so thankful and so honored."
On the goPuff app, the Yards and Lokal Artisan Foods collab beer will be featured alongside other local iconic brands such as Federal Donuts, Famous 4th Street Cookie Company and La Colombe. The beer will be available in the Local Favorites, as well as the Beer tabs within the app.
“At goPuff, we are committed to working with and supporting local businesses in each of our communities - and this is especially true in Philadelphia, our home city," said Rafael Ilishayev, goPuff co-founder and co-CEO. "Because of this, partnering with Lokal Artisan Foods, a Black- and female-founded business in Philadelphia, aligns with our mission and we are so excited to work with Charisse to bring her new French Toast Beer to customers."
For a taste of the actual French Toast Bites, visit McGill and Lokal Artisan Foods at Cherry Street Pier and Spruce Street Harbor this summer. Plus, with restrictions being lifted, watch for McGill back out at festivals, fairs and events when they begin to resume. And of course, watch for McGill to return to Christmas Village and Made in Philadelphia Holiday Market.
For more about Yards and ordering the beer, visit www.yardsbrewing.com. For more about Lokal Artisan Foods, visit https://www.lokalartisanfoods.com/. Connect on social media at @lokalartisanfoods on Facebook and Instagram.
ABOUT YARDS BREWING COMPANY
Yards Brewing Company has been proudly brewing in the City of Brotherly Love since 1994. We’ve grown from a garage-sized operation to our newest location — a 70,000-square-foot brewery and taproom at 500 Spring Garden Street. Philadelphia Pale Ale, Signature IPA, and Brawler, all nationally-recognized ales, lead a balanced portfolio of quality, handcrafted beers including nine year-round offerings and several seasonal and limited releases, along with our First Draft innovation series. Here at Yards, it’s always been about working hard, having fun, and giving back. The Brew Unto Others motto reflects our commitment to quality, community, and sustainability.
ABOUT FRENCH TOAST BITES AND LOKAL ARTISAN FOODS
Black and female-owned business Lokal Artisan Foods was founded in 2018 by Charisse McGill, who turned lemonade sales by her daughter into a fast-growing Philly-celebrated brand that now has two brick and mortar locations, a spice on grocery store shelves, two beer releases, and a brand-new French Toast Bites Coffee with Bean2Bean.
McGill, 39, is a Temple University alum, who attended the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management. She just this month graduated from St. Joseph's Haub School of Business, with an MBA in Food Marketing. She is the former Director of Special Events at Valley Forge Military Academy. She also is known for being an expert in open-air economics and organized the highly successful Lansdale Farmers' Market.
For the energetic and talented food entrepreneur, the launch of the new ale is the highlight of one of the most challenging years in modern history for the hospitality business. It is also the highlight of an exciting and challenging journey from quitting her full-time job and going into business for herself.
Just under three years ago, McGill started her own business with money from her first investor, her daughter. Madison (then 12 years old, now 14 years old) hosted lemonade stands and put the proceeds into her Mom's new business. Those lemons turned into literal and figurative lemonade when McGill headed to her first season at the Made in Philadelphia Market. Her French Toast Bites were a run-away, sold out success! With the funds raised there, she invested back into her business and exploded in 2019 with the debut of her retail version of her priority blend of French Toast Spice - "The Only French Toast Seasoning You Will Need."
For 2020, McGill had big plans that included more and larger festivals and events, more short-and long term pop-ups, and exploration of a brick and mortar space. Then COVID19 hit and those plans fell apart like they did for many in the hospitality business. These plans really came to a devastating end when the Mayor announced this very week that events would be cancelled until February of 2021. That is an additional seven months of income and opportunity - and the joy of cooking - lost for McGill.
During the global crisis, McGill helped champion and became the first paid vendor on the Black-owned and operated Black and Mobile delivery service. She partnered with Better Box to share kitchen and cooking facilities to host pop-up sales via delivery and pick-up. She went on to be one of 60 people to win a grant from Black People Eats, she raised 100% of her goal through a community Kiva loan, and was awarded a Magic Johnson forgivable loans to minority owned businesses through Johnson's EquiTrust Life Insurance Company. She also was awarded a grant from the PA 30 Day Fund.
While this year could have been devastating for McGill with all the events and festivals being erased from her books, McGill did as she always does and picked up, moved forward, put in the hard work and remained positive. That hard work and attitude paid off as she then made history as the first black female operator at Spruce Street Harbor Park. The buzz from the grand opening on the waterfront then led to a huge volume of increased business inquiries - including a call from Joe Movestine at Doylestown Brewing Company for her first beer release. A few weeks later, the second big connection to the beer world happened when she was connected to Yards and the rest is history as they say.
