Tyler Trotter of Watter co-owns Louisville’s the Holy Grale bar.
Interview by Jason Schreurs
Tyler Trotter is not only the co-owner of Holy Grale, a Louisville, Kentucky bar that occupies a converted church, he originally opened a craft beer store nearby and also recently opened up a daytime restaurant next door to the church called Gralehaus. Add to that, Trotter is a prominent member of Louisville’s music scene, having been a longtime show promoter and sound guy for experimental instrumental band Grails. His most recent musical endeavour is the three-piece experimental rock group Watter, which also features Grails’ Zak Riles and Britt Walford of Slint. We recently spoke to Trotter about his forays into beer and food, and the parallels between running his businesses and being in a band.
Man, first off, you must be really busy?
Yeah, I’m actually in the process of hanging a sign on the front porch of the Gralehaus. It’s a separate thing from the Holy Grale, but they share the same beer garden in the outdoor space. When it’s all finished there will be a three-room bed and breakfast in it as well. So, basically, in order to get the outdoor beer gardens license that we used for the Holy Grale, we had to take on this house property project. At first we knew we wanted to do that, just to get the outdoor space, and then we had to figure out something to do with the house, and that’s when it morphed into this new restaurant. So, yeah, it’s been very busy, for sure [laughs].
How did you end up acquiring the church property?
Back in August of 2009 I opened a beer store and it really took off and I wasn’t really expecting it to. It was drink-on-premise, but there were also about 600 bottles that were packaged to go. Everything priced at retail, except the draft was bar prices. And that place was so small, it was only 400 square feet, so after awhile I realized to actually do this for the rest of my life and try to make a living doing it, I should be more of a bar and less of a store, so I started looking for places. I always had my eye on the church and at the time it was a Chicago-style hot dog place; they had really good hot dogs but weird hours, and they didn’t sell alcohol. If you drank outside two police officers would cruise by on ATVs, just like on South Park [laughs]. So when the church became available, everything fell into place like it should have. Originally we were just on the second floor, but gradually I’ve been adding more space, like the outdoor area and this new restaurant.
So you’re kind of building a little empire there? Have you always wanted to be in the food and drink industry?
No, I’ve always wanted to do a live venue. I booked a lot of shows heavily for a few years and after awhile I really wanted to open a venue, but I was getting so much into beer that I wanted the focus to also be a beer bar, but with a venue space. Then the restaurant thing just sort of happened with the church because the hot dog place gave us a really good deal on all of the equipment. We didn’t want to do a restaurant at all, but we figured we should give it a try because everything was already there, and if it didn’t work out we could always extend the bar.
So you kind of fell into all of this?
Yeah. We did fall into it and it ended up working really well. But the more I think about it, I would like to do that venue idea, and if we did go that direction I’d like to do more of a full-service bar. I always keep my eye on the churches around here. They make good venues.
Do you ever think about the irony of having a bar in a church?
Definitely. It’s actually a block away from the church I was confirmed at. I grew up going to church every Sunday and I lost interest when I got older. My mom said as long as I got confirmed, I could make up my own mind about going, so I did it and never went back.
Well, you’re going back every day when you go to work.
Well, yeah, now I’m in a church every day. Exactly. Architecturally though, they are beautiful.
How do you juggle being in the band Watter while running of all this? It is just one extra thing on the pile?
My business partner, Lori Beck, is totally the reason I’m able to get away with the band. We both have our downtime, and for me it’s music. It’s a release and it’s something different from what I do daily, so it’s nice to be able to do that. But, really, without her it wouldn’t have worked out being in a band. She’s been able to make it so we’re able to go out on the road and work on the record. For us, working on the album took a long time because we weren’t actually focused on it. Zak [Riles] has his own business and Britt [Walford] was going to school. The both have families and I was constantly working, so it naturally happened over time when we could get together and play.
Tell me a little bit about the neighbourhood down there. We were talking to Evan Patterson recently about the Louisville hometown food scene and he gave us a good idea what it’s like, but what do you see happening down there?
I’m sitting on the porch of the Gralehaus right now, which is the new place behind the church, and it faces another big Catholic church, so we’re sandwiched between two churches and we’re right on a point where two streets meet with lots of restaurants and bars. But it’s very, I don’t want to say quaint… but it’s a nice neighbourhood with lots of options.
If you had to choose one thing, running the bar or being in the band, which one would you choose?
Oh, that’s a tough one. I would have to say that being in the band is probably more enjoyable. But financially, I don’t know…. Doing a bar is a lot more work, so it’s hard to say. They’re both kind of unique in their own way, so it’s hard to answer.
What do you think the secret is to running a successful bar?
It’s a combination of a lot of things, but definitely knowing your customers and what they want. Knowing how you and your employees can build the business together is another main thing. I would say it’s probably a lot like forming a band. You want to be in a good group of people that you can work together well with, and progress and grow together. All of the people make it what it is.
Finally, what’s your favourite beer that you have on tap right now?
Oooh, it’s starting to get hot here and I love drinking the Brasserie de la Senne’s Taras Boulba when it’s hot. We actually do litres of it in the summertime, which is pretty amazing. It’s from a Belgian brewery in Brussels and it’s just a light, hoppy ale with a nice bitter finish.
Holy Grale is located at 1034 Bardstown Road in Louisville, Kentucky.
Watter’s This World is out now on Temporary Residence Limited.
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