A Brewery, A Restaurant, a Bookstore, a Coworking Space, and a Coffee Shop: Bold Monk Brewing Co. in Atlanta's Upper Westside
Opened to the public in December 2019, Bold Monk Brewing Co. is an ambitious addition to the booming brewery scene in the Atlanta area.
Bold Monk Brewing Co., in a sentence, can best be described as: a brewery, a restaurant, a bookstore, a coworking space, and a coffee shop all rolled into a single massive space. Bold Monk Brewing Co. represents a 10-year labor of love for Cindy and Alan LeBlanc, John “JR” Roberts, and their Brewed to Serve Restaurant Group, Inc., the Atlanta-based restaurant company behind Max Lager’s Wood-Fired Grill & Brewery, White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails, and Richards’ Southern Fried. The space is one to behold.
Atlanta Coffee Shops was invited to preview this space in February 2020, and the following post showcases the various elements from Bold Monk Brewing Co.
This post is organized into the following sections:
Please enjoy!
Exterior Views
Bold Monk Brewing Co. is located at 1737 Ellsworth Industrial Blvd NW, Suite D-1, Atlanta, GA 30318 in Atlanta’s Upper Westside neighborhood.
There is plenty of free parking available in front of the brewery, and there is additional free parking at the back of the brewery.
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Exterior of Bold Monk Brewing Co.
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On approach to Bold Monk Brewing Co. The entrance is through the large double doors seen to the right of center.
Currently in development is an outdoor beer garden. Partial construction is complete with this walkway bridge; expect the beer garden to be completed by late spring or early summer.
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A walkway from the interior of Bold Monk Brewing Co. to the planned beer garden.
The Brew Bar & Dining Room
The downstairs of Bold Monk Brewing Co. features a spacious dining room and a brew bar with 32 taps (see the current beer selection here). As you enter through the giant doors, you will be greeted by a space with bookshelves and paintings on the walls.
The architecture and design of Bold Monk Brewing Co. were in collaboration with ASD Sky (who have worked on other hospitality projects in Atlanta such as Root Baking Co., Bartaco, South City Kitchen in Buckhead, Nine Mile Station, and Storico Fresco). Design aesthetics were done by Smith Hanes Studio (who have previously worked with Nina & Rafi, The Lawrence, The Watershed on Peachtree, Bellina Alimentari, The Optimist, and Brash Coffee in Westside).
Additionally, the interior of Bold Monk Brewing Co. incorporates the work of local artisans, including the steelwork of David Adams, the carpentry and woodwork of Windsor Pine, plaster work by Southeast Plaster, and lighting by Skylar Morgan.
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Near the entrance of Bold Monk Brewing Co.
The main dining room features several small tables and large tables for large groups. The bar area floats in the space, as can be seen below:
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The main dining room of Bold Monk Brewing Co.
The bar area of Bold Monk Brewing Co. features comfortable stools for seating and wall outlets for those looking to get some work done on their laptops (a testament to Bold Monk Brewing Co. being considered a coworking space).
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The bar area of Bold Monk Brewing Co. Note the power outlets.
For those that want a more intimate feel during dinner, there is a separate area of Bold Monk Brewing Co. located further down on the first floor. If you make your way there, you will be greeted by this knight:
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At Bold Monk Brewing Co.
Additional dining area at Bold Monk Brewing Co may be seen below (this area is known as the “Beer Cellar”).
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Additional dining area at Bold Monk Brewing Co. dubbed the “Beer Cellar.” The kitchen is outside of frame, to the right. The kitchen has a wood-fired grill and a custom-made Neapolitan pizza oven.
The Upstairs at Bold Monk Brewing Co.
The second floor of Bold Monk Brewing Co. is a sight to behold. The upstairs features another bar area, a library/bookshop, plenty of space to get work done, and beautiful curved ceiling and windows.
Take the stairs seen below to get to the upstairs area of Bold Monk Brewing Co.:
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On the way to the upstairs area of Bold Monk Brewing Co.
Seen below is a wide-angle view of the upstairs area of Bold Monk Brewing Co. Collectively, this upstairs area is called The Abbey.
The design of this element at Bold Monk Brewing Co. is beautiful that it reminded ACS of some metro stations in Moscow, Russia (Editor’s Note: spectacular images of the Moscow Metro appear in this collection by photographer David Burdeny; what other station(s) or places around the world does this upstairs area of Bold Monk Brewing Co. remind you of?).
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The upstairs area at Bold Monk Brewing Co. At the far end: the intricate Mondrian-influenced glasswork framing the Abbey provides a bird’s eye view of the brewery and brewing process taking place below.
Seen below is the detail at the far end of the Abbey at Bold Monk Brewing Co. The window design is inspired by Piet Mondrian (notably, Mondrian’s Composition series), and one can get an overhead view of the brewery and brewing process from the edge:
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Detail inside the Abbey at Bold Monk Brewing Co. The octagonal table can be used for chess or some other games.
Moving about the upstairs area and you will come face to face with a statue of Patience and the upstairs library/bookshop. You are welcome to browse the books available here, and if you are so inclined, you can also purchase books at this library.
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Patience at Bold Monk Brewing Co. and the library/bookshop.
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Detail of Patience at Bold Monk Brewing Co.
On the table on which the statue of Patience stands is the following description:
Like your favorite piece of music or your most prized work of literature, the Bold Monk exists to bring comfort in your time of leisure. In our restaurant, brewery, library, coffee house, and beer garden, you’ll find your space.
Fundamentally, we are a space to simply … be. To be satisfied, to be joyous, to be connected, to be well. To be yourselves.
A gorgeous design element at Bold Monk Brewing Co. are these windows, reminding one of a monastery:
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A monastery window at Bold Monk Brewing Co.
As we move around the upstairs, we see how the library / bookstore area at Bold Monk Brewing Co. seamlessly merges into the rest of the space:
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The library area of Bold Monk Brewing Co.
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The library area of Bold Monk Brewing Co. A great spot to get some work done.
The upstairs area also features some board games that one can borrow:
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Board games!
The Books
Since one of the primary areas of interest to Atlanta Coffee Shops is books and reading, this section is dedicated to the bibliophile.
ACS notes that the selection of books at Bold Monk Brewing Co.’s library is well-curated, with a selection of books in art, history, classical literature, and of course, how-to books on brewing and making cocktails. Overall, it is very impressive from the curatorial perspective.
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Books at Bold Bonk Brewing Co. Featured books include J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers.
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Books at Bold Bonk Brewing Co. Note the Fyodor Dostoyevsky on the shelves.
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Books at Bold Bonk Brewing Co.
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Books at Bold Bonk Brewing Co.
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A book on Banksy at Bold Monk Brewing Co.
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Books on filmography/directing at Bold Bonk Brewing Co.
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Books at Bold Bonk Brewing Co.
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No brewery would be complete without books on beer and cocktails.
The Coffee and Tea Menu
Following is the coffee and tea menu at Bold Monk Brewing Co. Bold Monk Brewing Co. is partnered with Methodical Coffee (Greenville, SC) for its supply of coffee beans.
In conversation with Jake King, coffee director at Bold Monk, the specials on the coffee menu are still in development and will be finalized soon.
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Following is the coffee/tea menu at Bold Monk Brewing Co., updated as of late February 2020:
Coffee Small $3.00 / Large $3.75 Drip Coffee Small $3.00 / Large $3.75 $3 Espresso $3 $3 Americano $3 $3.5 Cortado $3.5 $3.75 Cappuccino $3.75 $4 Latte $4 $4.50 Iced Latte $4.50 $5 Mocha $5 $5.50 Iced Mocha $5.50 $6 Nitro Cold Brew $6 Pour Over Market Price Ethiopia Gedeb Natural (Methodical Coffee) Tasting notes: Strawberry, lemon, honey Market Price Market Price Kenya (Methodical Coffee) Tasting notes: Blackcurrant, citrus Market Price Specialty Drinks Small $5.50 / Large $6 Sweet Potato Latte Small $5.50 / Large $6 $6 Grapefruit Coffee Soda $6 Rishi Teas Mint Great Tea Butterfly Pea Flower Earl Grey Lavender Barrel Aged Black Tea Hibiscus Berry Other Drinks $4 Hot Chocolate $4 $4.50 Chai / Iced Chai $4.50 $5 Matcha $5 $5.50 Iced Matcha $5.50
In the meantime, below are previews of the specialty coffee drinks at Bold Monk Brewing Co.:
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Preview #1.
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Preview #2. A beautiful pour by Jake King, coffee director at Bold Monk Brewing Co.
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Wide angle view…
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Preview…
The Lunch and Dinner Menu
The lunch/brunch/dinner menu at Bold Monk Brewing Co. may be seen here. ACS inquired about the naming convention for the pizzas (the 1836, the 1838, the 1850, the 1862, and the 1899) and received the following response:
The pizzas were all named after years monasteries opened in Europe. For example, the 1836 Pizza was named after Dom Martinus Dom, O.C.R., (24 December 1791 – 9 December 1873) who was a Belgian Trappist monk. He served as the first abbot of the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle, where he founded the Westmalle Brewery. It was ordained an Abbey in 1836.
ACS will leave it as an exercise to the reader to figure out after which other European monasteries the other pizzas are named.
The Wine Menu
In addition to the extensive beer menu, Bold Monk Brewing Co. has a secondary focus on wine:
Wine, like beer, has been intertwined with the development of Western civilization for thousands of years. Grains vs grapes has often been a cultural choice—at the Bold Monk, we choose to honor both.
Just as the house brewed and Belgian inspired beers pay homage to the monastic traditions of the great Trappist brewers of Belgium, the Bold Monk wine list is populated with wine selections that are rooted in the winemaking traditions of monasteries throughout Europe, and feature producers that have continued connections to the spirit of the monk. Burgundy is perhaps the truest representation of monastic viticultural practices. For hundreds of years virtually every terroir was documented for character and fertility. In addition the meticulous record keeping related to cultivation of vines, weather, fermentation methods, and aging brought wine making to a level of art and science previously unknown.
Bold Monk Brewing Co. features wines from France (Burgundy, Champagne, Bordeaux, Alsace regions are represented), Italy (Alto Adige, Chianti, and Piedmont regions), Spain (Priorat region), Austria (Burgenland region), and Germany (Pfalz1 region).
Final Say
This post is a preview of Bold Monk Brewing Co. in the upper Westside neighborhood of Atlanta.
Based on the recent ACS visit, the space and offerings truly do make Bold Monk Brewing Co. an all-around destination as a brewery, restaurant, bookstore/library, coffee shop, and coworking space. As a collective space encompassing all of those elements under one roof, Bold Monk Brewing Co. is a one-of-a-kind place in Atlanta.
ACS highly recommends checking out Bold Monk Brewing Co., whether to grab a coffee in the morning, a lunch in the afternoon, dinner/drinks in the evening, or combining all of the above as an extended outing for the ample space to get some work done. (Editor’s Note: ACS has added Bold Monk Brewing Co. to a list of Atlanta Coffee Shops best for coworking or working remotely).
Indeed, Bold Monk Brewing Co. aspires to be more than the sum of its parts: a true gathering place for locals and visitors.
Bold Monk Brewing Co.
Location:
upper Westside ☕Atlanta ☕ ITP
Address:
1737 Ellsworth Industrial Blvd NW
Suite D-1
Atlanta, GA 30318
ph: 404-390-3288
Hours of operation:
Monday-Thursday: 8AM to 11PM
Friday: 8AM to 12AM
Saturday: 9AM to 12AM
Sunday: 9AM to 11PM
Coffee Roaster / Roasting Partner:
Methodical Coffee (Greenville, SC) + rotating roaster partnerships.
Footnotes:
There are some really interesting factoids on the wine menu at Bold Monk Brewing Co.: The Pfalz region has a long and tumultuous history of viticulture. Traces of winemaking have been found in Celtic graves from 550 BC. After the Celts, the Romans fostered winemaking which was all but a abandoned after their departure from the region. Vineyards lay dormant until viticulture was revived by Christian Monasteries in the 7th Century. ↩