November 01, 2024
Restaurants | Best of the Fox
Restaurants

St. Charles brewery brings 'sun bubbles' to patio to extend outdoor service

Plastic enclosures hold picnic tables to seat six

By Aimee Barrows

Lindsay and Kirk Foster of Geneva sit in one of the Sun Bubbles outside Riverlands Brewing Company in St. Charles on Oct. 23. (Sandy Bressner)

ST. CHARLES – As the weather started to get cooler, the owners of Riverlands Brewing Co. in St. Charles knew they would have to get creative when it came to outdoor service.

Luckily, Steve Marck, one of the co-owners of Riverlands, ordered "sun bubbles" earlier this fall in anticipation of not only the colder weather, but in case of another ban on indoor dining.

The sun bubbles officially opened to customers last week, just in time for the additional COVID-19 mitigations that temporarily prohibit indoor dining and bar service in Kane County.

As it turns out, the sun bubbles, which are like plastic "pop-up greenhouses" that trap heat to allow gardening throughout the winter, make perfect enclosures for outdoor dining, Marck said.

"When it's sunny out, they get warm, and they block the wind, so it's much better than standing outside," he said. "People have been really psyched about it. They're jazzed they don't have to sit in the rain, and they thought it was a blast."

Riverlands Brewing Co. doesn't have a kitchen, but customers can bring their own food into their bubble or enjoy a meal from one of the food trucks stationed near the building on weekends. The brewery has table service – or sun bubble service – because customers are not able to order beer or cider from the taproom bar.

Marck said he is planning to leave the sun bubbles out as long as possible, even through the winter and into spring.

"It’s been a wild ride. We’ve had to reinvent the model several times over," he said. "The community has been really supportive, so we're lucky to be in the spot where we are. We're always trying to do something to stay ahead [of the pandemic regulations]. You have to get creative because this [virus] is probably not going to go away for a while."

The brewery has 14 sun bubbles available by reservation, but soon could add more. The bubbles are located next to the taproom, 1860 Dean St., Unit A, in St. Charles. Visit www.riverlandsbrewing.com.