New Taphouse Emphasizes Family, Good Food

For those of you familiar with the former Rodz n Rydz, if you were to walk into the newly renamed Taphouse you would be quite surprised.

Gone are the pool tables, foosball tables and the lingering smell of a night of drinking gone astray. Instead there are tables, chairs, a fireplace and an outside seating area perfect for kids. 

If you were to ask Taphouse’s three managers, Geoff Freitag, William Howard and Chris Rigney, why they made such a drastic change they would be perfectly honest and candid in their response.

“To get people in the door,” Howard said. “Before people thought it was a biker bar and that kept the local clientele away.”

Taphouse now offers a family-friendly atmosphere—complete with a fenced-in backyard seating for kids to run around—a revamped menu and tables.

“Before we only had like three tables in the entire restaurant and probably only two of them had chairs, and those chairs probably wobbled,” Howard said.  “We used to be a place where you could come and get drunk for cheap. It was really a drinking place before. Now you can bring your family, watch football and let your kids run around outside.”

While all three owners are anxious to talk about their new atmosphere and craft beer selection, it’s the menu that really gets them excited about the product they offer.

Not a single entree on the menu costs more than $17, and when I asked them if they served “typical bar food” they were almost insulted.

“It is definitely not bar food,” Rigney said. “We also produce everything we serve—nothing is bought pre-packaged. Everything is made fresh. We don’t have a chef and we have come up with a really good menu on our own. Our rockfish tacos are going to put us on the map.”

Taphouse also offers a variety of weekly specials along with a Ravens gameday special, which features many discounts. They also offer discounts for first responders and members of the military.

“We have to be the cheapest place in town for the product that we offer,” Howard said. “We are very casual and very friendly. We want it to feel like your house when you come in.”

Added Rigney, “We greet everybody with a 'what’s happening, how are you doing and what are you drinking?'"

Taphouse is located at 58 West Earleigh Heights Road and off of the B&A Trail. For more information call 410-793-5759.

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