Paces Properties is pleased to share news of its fourth tenant to join Memorial Drive’s Atlanta Dairies redevelopment, Three Taverns Imaginarium. Set to open summer of 2019, the Imaginarium, an extension of Decatur’s Three Taverns Brewery, will be equal parts laboratory, brewery, and tasting room. Inspired by an ancient cabinet of curiosities, it will welcome those with a preference for the unpredictable. 

“We are thrilled to have Three Taverns Imaginarium join the Atlanta Dairies tenant mix,” said Merritt Lancaster, Principal of Paces Properties. “As a well-known Georgia brewery and with a successful flagship location in Decatur, Three Taverns has grown to become a prominent Atlanta brand. We are confident the Imaginarium will be welcomed with open arms by the surrounding neighborhoods and beyond.”

“The historical significance of the Dairies location and the short walk both from the Eastside beltline trail are key parts of our desire to join Dairies. Equally as exciting is the vision for Dairies location itself as a mix of living, shopping, dining, live music, and entertainment all connected by a communal gathering space right outside our brewery doors,” said Three Taverns Imaginarium Owner Brian Purcell. “With one of the few open container licenses in the city, the Dairies location offers the opportunity for customers to carry our beer freely throughout the complex, making our beer a complete part of the Dairies experience.”

The Imaginarium is where Three Taverns brewers will invent and concoct beers with exotic flavor profiles – while also serving up fan favorites. It plans to have 4 to 5 of its core beers on tap, followed by a rotating list of 20 to 25 experimental beers exploring many different styles, ingredients, and brewing techniques. Beyond a heavy rotation of experimental beers including juicy and hazy IPAs, and in keeping with the Dairies theme, The Imaginarium will use lactose in some of their beers to craft styles like milk stouts, fruit and cream sours and milkshake IPAs currently gaining popularity in the marketplace. Its hope is to complement its beer offerings with small food plates from rotating kiosks or pop-up stations. 

“Locating in a historic Atlanta Dairy offers a meaningful connection to both Georgia and craft brewing’s past,” said Purcell. “Atlanta Dairies was a lively part of Atlanta’s commercial activity for 60 years and is one of the last buildings on Memorial Drive to retain its original industrial character. In addition to Atlanta’s history, in the beginning years of the craft beer revolution in the 70’s and 80’s when there were no equipment suppliers for the small brewer, the earliest craft pioneers were left to construct their own brewing systems from used dairy equipment, which are still in use in some breweries today. Even earlier during the dark years of prohibition, some of the few breweries that survived turned to the dairy industry and used their skills in keeping things cold to make dairy products. We have a love and reverence for history at Three Taverns and with so many touch points to the past, in Georgia and beyond, continuing the industrial tradition that defined this place for so long is inspiring and provides a deeper sense of place and purpose.”

The new urban renewal project will be Three Taverns’ second brewery location, with its first location having launched in Decatur in 2013. The Imaginarium will give Three Taverns an opportunity to be creative and imaginative, and the space will have its own unique identity designed by architecture firm Square Feet Studios. While The Parlour in Decatur gets its look and feel from early European and American pubs, the Imaginarium draws inspiration from the scientific world of centuries past: laboratories, apothecaries, and cabinets of curiosities, where collectors would proudly put their experiments and discoveries on display. The vibrant and ever-changing nature of Atlanta and the exciting growth and culture of the city are the perfect backdrop for our journey into exploration and invention.