Um…yes, yes, yes and yes. I will have all of the above. That is what I thought when I saw this sign tonight. I covered an event for the magazine at MadTree Brewing Company in Oakley. I had never been inside. Big, interesting, open and dog-friendly (on the patio).
My event was in a smaller room, set aside from the main pub/restaurant. The place was completely packed. Some of our guests came in complaining that there was not one parking space to be found in the very large lot.
The beer may be epic and life-changing and everything listed on the rustic wall menu may be as heavenly as it sounds. However, there must be more. On a “school night” in the middle of the week, this expansive building is filled to capacity.
It is community. We are designed to be in community. Some find it in their work. Some find it in their family. Some find it at church. Some may find it in all of those places and also enjoy it in this setting.
I look around and people are hugging and back-slapping (lovingly) and laughing and feeling connected to other people. It is a primary basic need. Human connection. We are made for it.
Remember the old Cheers theme…
You wanna go where people know,
People are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows your name.
Yep. Every person on this planet yearns to feel normal and alive and connected and have someone remember their name. You may never go into MadTree or a place similar to it, but never forget that someone, somewhere needs to be included and remembered and given a (loving) back-slap or hug or a smile. People are all the same.
I am not a beer drinker but I can highly recommend the soft pita triangles dipped in Psycho-hummus and spicy guacamole and MadTree’s own icy cold house-made peach soda. Though I’m sure the chicken bacon ranch pizza with roasted garlic and olive oil, chicken, bacon, spinach, roasted tomatoes and ranch is to die for…I’ll be back.