Once upon a time, the stars aligned in the shape of an Adirondack Chair, and the heavens opened up to shine their light upon 523 Linden St, proclaiming, "You shall open a bar called The Backyard Ale House, and it shall be good!" Or, at least, that's how it may seem after five years of accolades (Best New Bar, Best Happy Hour, Best Vibe, Best Overall Bar four years running) and acclaim; the truth, of course, is that the bar very nearly didn't exist at all and only came together because of a chance conversation between two friends during a time of worldwide crisis and financial panic. (Some might say it arrived just in time to save the drinking public from mediocre beer, and they may be right about that, but we'll stop just short of saying it, because we don't want you to think that we're arrogant jerks or anything...) Things were different in the year 2008: the American economy was floating comfortably upon the back of the sub-prime mortgage market, the Iphone 3G was lightning fast, and Scrantonians were just starting to hear about this crazy thing called "Craft Beer." It was at that moment in time that Billy and Pat found themselves in posession of a commercial space at 523 Linden St that happened to have a liquor license. After deciding to gut the place and remodel it, Billy informed Tony that this particular space would also have access to the largest outdoor patio in Scranton. As Billy explained this to Tony, visions of beer suds and dollar signs danced in his head, and Tony exclaimed, "We should build a bar!"
Tony explained that a patio bar in the downtown area could be a huge draw, and, combined with an inside bar, could provide the experience of two separate bars under one roof (Sort of...you get what we're going for here, right?). Pat and Billy were intrigued: they admitted that they had often thought of opening a bar in that particular space and that it might be the right time to pursue that particular dream. And so, they thought, and they thought, and they thought and they thought, and they finally realized they needed one more person to round out the financial side of things, someone they liked and trusted, and, after much deliberation, they said, "We should totally get Eric in on this." And, with the quartet complete, our heroes set out to build the bar they themselves would want to hang out at, a place where, to quote one of our better guests, Mike Buser, "Beer is king and music is crown prince." Having each spent several years walking the Earth ala Caine from Kung Fu, they sought to incorporate all of the excellent things they had seen in their travels far and wide (California! Belgium! Bloomsburg! Sweden! Mexico! A bunch of other cool places!) in order to provide a top-notch experience with the best craft and import beer they could find. After many late nights and much debate, the light of the Adirondack Stars shone down upon them, and The Backyard Ale House was officially born. Since then, The Backyard Ale House has done its best to provide experiences for the world at large. We feature 2 full bars (inside and outside), a carry-out bottleshop complete with a Pegas 3000 Growler-filler, over 500 bottles of beer, 28 rotating drafts, and food so good it will make you cry. Since day one, we have done our best to provide an excellent time to anyone who walks through our doors, and we will continue to pursue that standard of excellence while striving to meet the ever-changing needs of the drinking community in order to better serve our owners, our employees, and, most importantly, the guests that come to visit us. Cheers! Tony, Billy, Pat, & Eric
