Where’s Your New Hangout?

When our local brewery – Ashton Brewing – closed at the end of December all of us regulars had the same question for each other: “where are we going to meet at now?”. A little over 3 months later, the question when we run into other former regulars whom we don’t see often anymore, is “so, where are you hanging out now?”. We ask because we miss seeing our brewery friends and we want to know where we can go to share good beer and good times with them again. We also miss randomly going to the brewery to see who else will be there to hang out with because it was about much more than just a good pint.

       Many members of the Ashton Community (see “Losing a Community” post) plan get togethers at other local watering holes to ensure we continue to meet, but it’s not the same when meetups have to be planned. There are still the random encounters at several local spots and those are always fun – and always leave us lamenting that loss. The most fun times are when at a planned get together, others outside the invitation loop just happen to show up. That brings smiles and hugs and reminds us all that we can keep the Community alive.

       We had a mini “reunion” in early February and 20 of us showed up – including Ashton’s owners – and essentially took over the bar area of the location we chose. It was a good time catching up and being with Steve and Donna again. Another, smaller gathering took place a couple of weeks ago at the house of one of the former beertenders. Seeing so many of us together again was fantastic and we all had a great time sharing beers from various breweries, recounting stories of adventures at Ashton and comparing notes on where we go now. Looking forward to more such get togethers as the weather gets nicer and we can be outside.

       Like the other former regulars, I’ve been going to several different local spots to fill the gap - based on beer selection, happy hour specials, and potential to get a seat at the bar. That last part is important as sitting at the bar allows for interaction with other patrons, and those encounters make the experience much more fun. Being retired I can take advantage of some local mid-day happy hours but no matter how great the deal or how good the beer selection, there’s no place like “home” as a famous actress once said.

      Often I run into former Ashton regulars which makes for a much more fun time and even though it’s only been a little more than 3 months we inevitably wind up talking about how much we miss the place where so many of us turned from strangers into friends.    One bright spot (other than my wallet staying a bit fatter) is that I’ve become closer to some of the local regulars that I hung out with only at the brewery. That’s led to several strengthening friendships and a couple of new disc golf partners for this season.

       We lost our “Community Center” when Ashton closed, but thankfully we have maintained our community. Yes, it’s taken effort by a lot of us regulars to keep in touch and make plans. And yes, spontaneity has faded for the most part. But no matter how we manage to get together it’s always a better time when we have others from that community to share it with. We are truly blessed to have been part of a once in a lifetime experience that brought so many of us together and I hope keeps us together for a long time.

End note: I headed to another semi-local brewery last Saturday and ran into a couple of fellow regulars from Ashton and a friend of theirs. We caught up quickly and wound up in the same conversation comparing notes on where we go now and how we miss having our brewery in town. As I went alone, it was much more fun to hang out with them and talk over a few pints.

www.RetiredandInspiredat55.com  04-14-2025