Auburn's new beer garden perfect for outdoor dining

While planning a grand-opening celebration the same week California shut down due to COVID-19 restrictions, The Station Public House has found it now lends itself well to outdoor dining requirements. With 8,000 square feet of outdoor dining space, the beer garden is now a destination for those seeking a place to eat safely while social distancing. While business owners Tyler Lovejoy and Tyler Friesen had to furlough their staff in March, they hired more staff in June to help serve their booming business. "Like most ideas, it started out at a bar with my partner Tyler," Lovejoy said. "We wanted to have our own bar and restaurant but also create a locale that acts as a community gathering destination that enriches the location." Lovejoy and Friesen found what they were looking for in a small suite along Lincoln Way next to a large vacant lot, which they envisioned as the ultimate backyard dining experience. Their vision was to turn the suite into a bar that connects to the lot, which would be transformed into an outdoor dining and gathering space. "The vision we had is unlike anything we've seen in Placer County," Lovejoy said. The suite, which houses the bar and kitchen, has two large roll-up doors that connect the inside to the outdoors. Due to COVID-19 restrictions – the roll-up doors are currently down and the bar is being used outdoors as a counter from which to order food. Lovejoy describes the food as contemporary pub grub featuring burgers with bacon jam, a south Vietnamese bahn mi dip sandwich, Scotch egg, Cubano sandwich and more. The menu features appetizers, salads, sandwiches, burgers and a kids menu. The real draw is 40 beers the restaurant has on tap. Lovejoy, who has a background working in craft beer, says The Station has about 20 staple taps and rotates the other 20. Lovejoy said they aim to feature every type of beer as best they can from German and Belgian to American West Coast craft. They also serve hard kombucha, ciders and wine. The Station moves a lot of beer, Lovejoy said, and has several relationships with area breweries, including Crooked Lane and Auburn Ale House. Taps are constantly changing, he said. Lovejoy said his favorite thing about The Station is that it's a place where people gather. "The people that come out are as unique as the next one," Lovejoy said. "So many stories and conversations. There are so many different backgrounds, our demographic is wide." As COVID-19 restrictions were released, Lovejoy and Friesen wrote a whole new business plan. To comply with state regulations, all employees wear masks and the business asks that customers wear masks while ordering or going inside to use the restroom.