Racers Cafe: An Update

Further to my earlier post on the expanding Racers Cafe, I had a chance to stop by yesterday, where the owners graciously showed me the newly-renovated interior, complete with a handsome bar, bar-back, and 30 drafts.  I was asked not to post photographs yet, but passers-by can easily see for themselves through the front window that the bar interior will be a handsome one, and a far throw from the "dive" interior the current Racers Cafe has.  In addition, the back yard, like the one at the current Racers, will feature a large, landscaped "beer garden" courtyard, which also adjoins the courtyard of the original Racers.  With food available from the kitchen, the al fresco dining should be superb.

Richard Osenberg, the owner, speculated that the additional room would allow him to resume the Racers Real Ale Challenge, a pioneering real-ale festival that outgrew the bar and was effectively supplanted by the SPBW/Wharf Rat Real Ale Festival several years ago.  He refused to target an opening date, but opening appears to be mere weeks to a few months away, as opposed to the long-stalled projects elsewhere in the city (well, Racers is in the county, after all).