We were lucky to catch up with Andria Roscart recently and have shared our conversation below.

Andria, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

During a trip to LA in 2020 visiting my sister-in-law, Catherine, the concept of The ABL was born. We spent our time eating, visiting breweries and exploring Joshua Tree. On a rare rainy evening we got take-out and started discussing what would make for a chill but fun brewery atmosphere. I opened my note keeper app and started making lists of what we felt was missing from other breweries we have visited.

Being an avid reader, I was happy to marry into a family full of fellow bibliophiles. Our love of books and my fond memories of going with my grandmother to libraries as a kid really made this a no brainer. I am merging a unique library style setting with awesome craft brew and fun evening events. Our taproom will be relaxed setting where you will be surrounded by hundreds of books, comfortable seating areas, and at least 20 options of our own craft beers, ciders, craft sodas and some of our favorite local brews.

During my involvement with PTA for 9 years I witnessed how sad students would be on preview day knowing that they would not be able to purchase anything from the schoolbook fairs. I will be creating a charity within our business to provide funds to students who are unable to purchase books at schoolbook fairs due to hardships in the family. This charity will support Title 1 schools and/or students in the ABC programs in Pasco County school systems.

Andria, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a 41-year-old Texican that has been living in Florida for the last 11 years with my husband, Chris, our two kids, Akan (18) and Chloe (13), and our retired greyhound, Daz. For over 12 years I’ve dreamed of owning my own bar with the support of my husband. Chris and I got into the craft beer scene about 5 years ago. Since then, we plan our vacation stops around areas with a variety of breweries and have visited almost all in the Pasco, Tampa, and St Petersburg areas as well as many others in other states. Then 2 years ago met Simon at a homebrew competition he was in and really enjoyed his beers and his personality. We became friends on social media and continued visiting him at beer events. Once I decided I was ready to make this dream a reality I posted it online and Simon reached out.

The ABL was created out of what we felt was missing in the craft-beer world. We have an amazing support system and our friends and neighbors and even some strangers have been dropping books off at our home since they found out about this adventure. Our book inventory is now just over 500!

The idea is to have a very relaxed setting where you will be surrounded by hundreds of books, comfortable seating areas, and at least 20 options of our own craft beers, ciders, craft sodas and some of our favorite local brews. We will provide Wi-Fi so you can get out of that stuffy office or house and have someone pour you a nice cold beverage (it is Florida after all) with minimal distractions. Once the late afternoon comes, happy hour will kick off leading into some really fun events held nightly. Chris and I attend trivia nights weekly and will continue that at The ABL, as well as bingo, open mics, local author readings, live music, dance parties, book clubs, and whatever else pops into my head.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My husband, Chris, came across the perfect location around January 2023. I was not even a little bit prepared to fully start location hunting. But once he sent me the pictures and seeing the amazing 1920 building with original floors I fell in love. We met up with the owner and viewed the space and I knew I really wanted this spot. Unfortunately, we weren’t at a place to pull the trigger and sign a lease agreement. A couple months later the owner let us know that someone else had signed a lease agreement and my dream location was no longer available. We continued to move forward building our business plan, find investors, research best brewing equipment and I even took a class on maintaining a tap room and the entire beer system from the walk-in cooler to the tap. We found 2 other locations that were in the process of being built and could work out for us but since we weren’t an established business and couldn’t provide financial support at the time, we struggled getting these big property owners approval for my concept. Then in the end of May the owner of the Dade City location reached out and let us know that the tenant fell through, and the property was available again. We went back and forth for lease negotiations and abatement requests until they finally agreed in June and were good with starting a lease on July 1st!

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

2 years ago, Chris and I met Simon at an Oktoberfest homebrewer competition he was in and really enjoyed his beers and his personality. We became friends on social media and continued visiting him at beer events. Once I decided I was ready to make this dream a reality I posted it online and Simon reached out. Simon has been a homebrewer for over 10 years and has a real passion for it that you can taste in his beers. Simon has been practicing the art of brewing for more than 10 years. In those years, his passion for brewing has grown considerably and he has been looking to transition his hobby into a profession. We believe his work experience (manager at a biomedical repair company), coupled with a love for home brewing and an extensive repertoire of proven recipes, will empower our brew lounge to succeed.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://abl.beer/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abl.beer/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abl.beer
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-abl-dade-city

Image Credits
Dani De La Rosa of DigitalMyst Photography