The Growler Expands to Include More Seating, Kitchen Space

By Cassie Morrison
for Hottytoddy.com
clmorris@go.olemiss.edu

The Growler is currently undergoing construction to expand its location and bring new opportunities to the business. Owner Krisi Allen and her partners—her husband and brother-in-law—have been in business since September of 2014 and they always had the goal of growing the space.

An issue that prompted the expansion was the lack of seating for customers.

“We regularly have people that are turned away because there are not enough places to sit, especially on the weekends,” Allen said.

Allen describes her business as having a coffee shop feel, but for nighttime. The owners want to provide their customers with an environment where they can work, meet with colleagues and friends, or just relax. That’s why, when The Growler’s neighbor tenants moved out, the owners were presented with the perfect opportunity of providing that atmosphere to a wider variety of people – one they couldn’t turn down.

“We always knew, if we had the opportunity to be able to seat more people and make more food, then we certainly would want to take it,” Allen said.

The expansion of the location will include a doubling of seating capacity, as well as a tripling of the kitchen size, something Krisi says had previously held them back. The enlarged space will eliminate the issues the staff faced working in a kitchen a third of the size and will make it easier for The Growler to expand their menu to better cater to customers.

A unique, new feature of the space is the private venue room. The front half of the space includes a projection screen, high top table, and large barn doors that enable it to be completely closed off. This space can be used by customers for private meetings, events, or parties.

The owners of The Growler don’t want to stray from the elements of their business that made them so successful in the first place. Instead, they want to add to it, Allen said.

“We want the people who have always enjoyed our business to continue to enjoy it and not feel like it changed too much on them, but we also want to get people who haven’t tried us before because we will have more opportunities for food, offering, and serving,” she said.

The Growler is expected to open its new addition to customers at the end of March.