Grace in Growlers. It’s not a name that rolls off your tongue easily, but its significance isn’t easily forgotten either. They are three simple words accurately describing the purpose behind this small and intimate space in the heart of Kailua. The word growlers is straightforward: a container used to take home draft beer. The word grace, on the other hand, is almost outdated and rarely used in modern vernacular. But that is one of Grace in Growlers many appeals. And one of their enterprises in setting a paradigm.

Tim and Holly are the two young owners of Grace in Growlers. Having honeymooned in Hawai‘i fifteen years ago, Holly was set on returning to the islands someday to live. Originally from San Diego, Tim worked as a cop and Holly as an insurance agent for AAA. They ran the Southern California rat race, and from the outset, one might have said they achieved the American Dream. They built their own 5,200 square feet house with an ocean view, owned three cars, and had a rental property.

Interior of Grace in Growlers in Kailua, Oahu, Hawai’i

And then Holly’s boss presented her with an opportunity to transfer to Hawai‘i. They eagerly sold everything and moved. Tim took a job at Hawaiian Airlines, and she exceled at AAA.

When they weren’t tending to their own professional lives, they were busy tending others’. Tim and Holly found ways to engage and give back to their community. They enjoyed forming relationships with people, particularly with those who were homeless. They befriended them and helped out whenever possible by buying them food, showering them with Christmas gifts, and washing their clothes. In an effort to make a greater and sustaining impact, they dreamt of creating a non-profit. “There was more to life than working hard and paying bills,” Tim recalls.

While in Chicago for a work conference, Tim and Holly checked out a brewery and were struck by the amount of people packed in there on a Thursday afternoon. Tim took out a notebook, wrote down “Crazy Ideas”, then thought of ways he could combine community service with craft beer.

Four months ago, they opened the doors to Grace in Growlers. The idea is simple: partner with random patrons to make a difference in the world.

View of the space. A community table made out of recycled doors occupies the center of the room.

Partnering with Random Patrons

Grace in Growlers serves only craft beer, and 100% of the profits go to their non-profit organization ONEninetynine Initiative. The non-profit uses that money towards community service events such as Laundry Love. At these Laundry Love events, ONEninetynine Initiative takes over a local laundromat and covers the cost to wash clothes for whoever shows up. More importantly, Tim and Holly build relationships by spending time with the people as their clothes wash. They do this every other week. Some of their patrons from Grace in Growlers have even come out to help after finding out the place they drink beer is also actively involved in serving the community.

Tim and Holly operate under the mission, “’to be with’ rather than ‘doing for'”, so although washing clothes is important, it is not as important as building relationships with other people. And that is a facet of grace, the first word of their name.

A Demonstration of Grace

In order to demonstrate further grace, Grace in Growlers is configured in a way to cultivate a sense of community. In the middle of the room is a long community table where people can seat themselves and pull up a board game or start a conversation with others. There are no televisions either, but that was done on purpose: to keep people engaged with each other and what’s on tap rather than what’s on TV. Tim joked that, “there could be Teletubbies on the television, and people would still be distracted.”

The tasting room has an open-air design with many hand-crafted and refurbished items made by Tim and Holly themselves.

Another meaningful and tangible way in which Grace in Growlers makes an impact is by how they spend their dollar. They spend their money supporting smaller breweries and companies dedicated to creating craft beer. On tap, they usually carry four IPA’s, three darks, a sour, a European, and a mix of other light beverages such as Kombucha, wine, or cold brewed coffee. And although the beer menu is not expansive, it is selective.

What’s on Tap

Coming from San Diego, which has a popular craft beer scene, Tim is used to drinking aggressive beer—beer that is interesting, that makes you think, that makes you react. In fact, they like their beer so interesting, that to them, Heineken is equivalent to water (the tap handle for water is a Heineken handle), and who would disagree?  So deciding which craft beer to feature is pretty straightforward: it must be true craft beer, and it must be fun.

A lineup of what’s on tap.

The beer is mostly local from places such as Beer Lab HI, Waikiki Brewing Company, or Maui Brewing Company. Others are from the mainland such as Deschutes Brewery, Knee Deep Brewing Company, Gigantic Brewing Company, and New Belgium Brewing. Tim ensures that all beer served is true craft beer and not owned by a major beer corporation, such as Anheuser-Busch. He even regrets not being able to serve Ballast Point, which is from his hometown in San Diego, because they are owned by Constellation Brands.

The beer tap handles are set along the back wall where patrons can pour their own drinks. They have the option to try all the different beers on tap, or drink the same beer if they preferred drinking just one. Tim and Holly teach patrons how to properly wash their glass, scan their bracelets, and pour their beer. Automated screens located above the handles tell what brewery made the beer, a little bit about the beer, and how much is left on tap.

Everyone is issued a bracelet to track the amount of beer poured. This is done not only for purchase purposes, but also to ensure nobody pours more than their 36 oz. limit. Tim and Holly established this limit in an attempt to be responsible. “We don’t want to be just a dive bar, or be a frat party. We self-imposed the limit. It wasn’t put on us by the liquor commission, and we lose money because of that limit. People would drink a heck of a lot more beer than we allow them to, but we want to be responsible.” It’s a bold move that aligns with their personal convictions, and they’re not afraid to stick to it. And by having a limit, Grace in Growlers remains more of a tasting room rather than a bar.

Grace in Growler Glass

The rotation they have on tap today will be different next week, and again the week after that. Similarly, as people come and go, as they interact and get to know one another, as they serve and make an impact in their community, they never come back the same. They are people, some who become friends with Tim and Holly, who not only experience tasting good beer, but also receive grace.

And grace, as Tim defines it, is simply “the exercise of love, compassion, and favor for the benefit of another person.” Grace in Growlers is designed to be a community, and to be for the community. And beer poured in growlers here is simply grace poured out to impact lives and change the world.

Grace in Growlers // 143 Hekili St, Kailua // (808) 975-9317

Questions and Answers  with Tim Veling>>

Pages: 1 2