The Roswell beer garden that drew crowds last summer returns Friday along the Chattahoochee River.
The events will take place adjacent to its previous location from last year. Signs were later erected on that site by the landowner, criticizing the city.
Nantahala Outdoor Center and Tim Stevens, owner of From the Earth Brewing Company, have partnered for weekend beer garden events at the center in Azalea Park. The beer garden will include live music, food trucks and wine in addition to a wide assortment of beer.
Beginning this week, the beer garden will be held 2 p.m. until dusk on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The following weekends through Labor Day weekend in September, the beer garden will also be open 4 p.m. to dusk on Thursdays, Stevens said.
Nantahala boat outfitter is set in the park along the river. The business has a contract agreement with Roswell to provide recreation and concession services to the community and to return 7% of gross receipts as well as 5% of concession receipts to the city.
Azalea Park is owned by Fulton County and Roswell leases it annually for $1, said Jeffrey Leatherman, Roswell director of Parks, Recreation, Historic & Cultural Affairs.
Leatherman said the beer garden is a way for the city to gauge public interest in a permanent riverbank cafe, which is part of future plans included in the city’s River Parks Master Plan.
Last Summer, Stevens and Roswell resident Jason Yowell operated a beer garden for four weekends on Yowell’s riverbank property, which is beside Nantahala Outdoor Center. It was discontinued after one month when Roswell stopped issuing special event permits due to the pandemic.
The city lifted the moratorium on special events permits in April but a new city policy could make it harder for Yowell to obtain a permit in the future, he says. A new law would require some landowners to go before the City Council for approval of special events permits.
Yowell, a frequent critic of city officials, has told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he believes Mayor Lori Henry is against him and he would have little to no luck getting a special events permit.
“These are monopolistic trade practices to punish a critic ...” he said of the city. “This never would’ve happed if I hadn’t done last year’s beer garden.”
City officials said there’s no agenda against Yowell and the idea of a city-sanctioned beer garden arose in early 2020 but implementing it was delayed by the pandemic.
Since December, Yowell has erected big signs on the property that read “Roswell is a mess” and “This city is broken.”
The largest has the latter phrase with words “The mayor is a petty tyrant,” painted in yellow underneath.
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