Backyard Tap

Zed Brooks is the owner and says the mission of the Backyard Tap is to be a social gathering location where craft business intersects with a fun experience. Zed talked with us about what the Backyard Tap aims to provide the community – both to small businesses and consumers.

Q: WHAT IS THE BACKYARD TAP?

Backyard Tap is a beer garden and taphouse in downtown Loveland, and this is our third year of operation. We seek to be a place where folks from the Northern Colorado communities can share a drink, a bite and a sense of community.

We set out to create a space where people can hang out and have a good time with an adult beverage, or something to eat from a food truck. We create community-focused events to really highlight what the community can offer.

Being a minority-owned business, we hope to create a work environment that is also diverse. We want to represent the community but also be good people. It’s a space where we use our platform to help others.

Q: WHAT STANDS OUT TO EMPLOYEES?

They enjoy the vibe – the experience that we set out to craft for customers. We always talk about the beverages just being a small part of a guest visit, but it is the whole customer experience that we focus on. We want an authentic experience, not just say it, but it’s what they do. This is a team. Customers and guests enjoy coming because of our team.

We have had a lot of turnover with the impacts of the pandemic, but what I do like to see when we get new team members is the cohesion created with our long-time employees.

We want a genuine, authentic connection with our guests but also with our team. We pride ourselves on the team environment. It takes all of this to make this thing work. Our staff is top-notch and quality. We aren’t perfect, but we know what we set out to do each day and then we achieve those goals.

Q: HOW DO YOU FURTHER THE MISSION OF WORK IN NORTHERN COLORADO?

What we try to do at The Backyard Tap, like many other businesses, is maintain a focus on how we operate to keep our team members employed and to add more staff and keep growing. We are in the food and beverage industry. We hope we can help people enhance their soft skills.

We are looking to find more development opportunities for our staff, additional responsibilities, leading events, learning and growing. We understand the challenges ahead of us because the workforce has changed, but we want to find folks who want to get out working and help create a quality customer-centric vibe.

These two years have been so challenging to navigate the changes and requirements to keep your staff and customers safe and healthy, but that has and always will be our primary goal.

We like to represent our local community and the Northern Colorado community. Folks who are interested in work opportunities should keep an eye out for this coming spring and summer.