After a 20-month pandemic closure, The Halford is back in business — with 71 taps flowing.
It’s a family operation, and there were times when co-owners Sophia Oh, Charlie Moon and Derek Kempinsky weren’t sure they could staff up enough to reopen to their sports-loving beer fans, especially with the current labor shortage.
“How do we go with one less server?” Oh said.
So they turned to technology. Customers still get their beer at the bar, but now there are kiosks for ordering bulgogi sliders, burgers, saucy wings, calamari, quesadillas, pasta and more. You punch in your table number, and one of three serving robots will deliver your meal.
(Not to worry, the robots haven’t been entrusted to scoot around with glasses of beer.)
The Halford’s customers were asked to name the trio of robots. Among the nominated choices were Huey, Louie and Dewey; Larry, Curly and Mo; Alice, Flo and Vera; and Hops, Brett and Barley.
Being the beer geeks that they are, they voted for Sterling, Simcoe and Citra. (For the uninitiated, those are varieties of hops.)
Kempinsky has curated a list of hyperlocal, regional, West Coast and national brews. During happy hour, 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays, selected pints from a rotating list are $6 each. Currently that pricing applies to Faction Bornday 8, Fieldwork Hills & Valleys, Two Pitchers Water Boy, El Segundo Broken Skull, Karl Strauss Tangible Fruited, Other Brothers League Night, Belching Beaver Phantom Bride, Russian River Mind Circus, Full Circle Captain Save a Hop, Brooklyn Pulp Art, Pizza Port Swami and Liquid Gravity Pina Colada Lager.
Details: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 1494 Halford Ave. http://thehalford.com
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