Torch & Crown's popular open-air beer garden is coming back to Union Square
The official marker of summer is back. And, yes, we mean drinking outside. Coinciding with the flowers blooming, outdoor patio bars and restaurants are sprouting up once again, welcoming us to soak up the sun with a sipper in hand. One of our favorite outdoor bars is returning for the season, transforming a corner of Union Square into an all-out beer hall.
On Thursday, May 1, Torch & Crown Brewing Company is taking over Union Square Park for its summertime pop-up: Torch & Crown Beer Garden. For its third season in a row, the brewery will bring its lineup of locally-made beers and bites to the square starting May 1 until early November. Commandeering the historic Union Square Pavilion and the square surrounding it, the indoor-outdoor space welcomes all (even dogs!) to enjoy the festivities no matter the weather. The seasonal venue is the brewery's only offshoot outside of its operation in SoHo.
Naturally, there is beer to be had here, many of the crushable varieties, including the Tenement Pilsner and the Southbound Mexican Lager. There are also two IPAs on tap as well as the mango and pineapple fruity sour ale, Xpert Ambassador Sour.
To nosh on, the garden has drummed up a line-up of seasonal eats, quite literally, as the venue incorporates goods from the neighboring Union Square Market. Perfect example is the Market Special, a 12-inch, thin-crust pizza with all the spring veggies, including asparagus, maitake mushrooms and garlic chives. Fan favorites from years past have returned like the Sigmund's Hand-Rolled Bavarian Pretzel and the cheddar cheese The Lou Burger served with fries.
If you can't attend the brewery opening on May 1, try to make it to the official opening party on May 7. In partnership with City Winery, the kick-off party will include live tunes from Matthew Lee & The Standbys. The fun continues at the garden all summer long with jazz music on Sundays with Geoff Burke, Monday night trivia with NYC Trivia League and live music on Fridays courtesy of Shawn Parsons and Matthew Lee & The Standbys.
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Pembrokeshire Herald
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- Pembrokeshire Herald
Peppa Pig heads to the Torch for a cinema adventure full of family fun
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Western Telegraph
11-05-2025
- Western Telegraph
Memories of the trawler Lord Suffolk in Milford Haven
He told us he was from Pembroke Dock, and it was his first ever visit to the Torch. He said he'd been looking out of the theatre's windows at the docks area, and remarked how different it all was to when he was a fisherman, sailing out of Milford in the 1960's, on the trawler Lord Suffolk, when Sandie Shaw was Number 1 in the charts with Always Something There to Remind Me, I knew it must have been 1965. And I also knew that thanks to the brief encounter this week's TRM would include a few facts and figures about the Lord Suffolk. I knew I had a photo of the trawler in my vaults somewhere and after a bit of delving, here's a snap of her taken after she'd been converted from steam to diesel in 1959. Built in 1929 in Lowestoft: 115 tons, 92 feet long. Local owners included J.C. Llewellin (Trawlers) Ltd and Norrard Trawlers. Landed at Milford at various periods from March 1948 to December 1969. Skippers included: Jack Chenery, Tom Long, J. Read, Noel Delf, Arthur James, John Donovan, and Jack Clarke. Interestingly coincidental, when I was a youngster living in Vicary Crescent, skipper Noel Delf and his family lived opposite us, and his sons Michael and Noel junior were pals of mine and part of our gang of reprobates. Here's a picture from those days taken down Wards Yard of a few of 'our gang' with dogs, and Michael Delf is the lad standing at the back, on the right. Michael Delf, son of the Lord Suffolk skipper Noel Delf is standing on the right (Image: Jeff Dunn) I will forever have one memory of skipper Noel which occurred in 1953 at our Crescent's street party for the Queen's coronation. Apparently, Noel had a bet with my dad that he wouldn't 'dress up in drag' for the occasion, the wager being a mugful of whiskey. Here's how I described it in my charity book Memories are Made of This: "My father emerged, somewhat sheepishly, from my parents' bedroom, and gingerly descended the stairs. "He was wearing a bright, flowered dress, high heels and had enough make up on to fill a pantomime dame's drawers! "He was 32 years of age, fit as a fiddle and built like the proverbial brick 'outhouse'. I could see his muscles rippling under the cotton dress and he hadn't shaved his arms." I still remember the look on Noel Delf's face as he handed my dad his 'prize' and I'm not at all surprised that my dad knocked it back in one swig. Meanwhile, back on the Lord Suffolk. Like many other trawlers, in 1939 she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted to a minesweeper. Here are a few of the WW Guardian news cuttings which followed: "August 1949. A deckhand trimmer on the Lord Suffolk, George Plummer, was rescued unhurt from Milford Docks on Wednesday evening after falling into the water. His cries were heard by a watchman, Mr Donnelly at 10.15pm and a life belt was thrown. Plummer was pulled out with the help of Docks PC Palmer, none the worse for his adventure." "January 1956. So fresh was the catch landed on Thursday morning by the drifter trawler Lord Suffolk that some of the fish were alive and wriggling as they were sold. The drifter, in charge of skipper Noel Delf, which had fished for only 3 days and brought in 72 kits made 941." "October 1963. When a Dutch merchant seaman lost his wallet overboard on a voyage to Northern Ireland he gave up all hope of recovering the documents and papers it contained. On returning to Holland, to his utter astonishment, he found his wallet waiting for him at his home. It had been brought up from the deep sea bed in the nets of Milford trawler Lord Suffolk and sent back to the owner by post with the contents intact. The Lord Suffolk found the wallet in the cod-end whilst they were fishing on the Chicken Grounds off the Isle of Man. The Lord Suffolk trawler (Image: Jeff Dunn) "Skipper James handed it in to the company office on the docks. The contents, which were remarkably well preserved, were found to include the merchant navy identity documents of the Dutch seaman, Mr. A. A. Verdonk, with the assistance of the mate of a Dutch dredger then working out of Milford harbour, the wallet was returned back to the owner in Holland." The final news item is from a WWG of March 1972: "Thick fog in the harbour was the cause of the Milford trawler Lord Suffolk running into the partially constructed Amoco jetty off Gellyswick. She got jammed and was lucky to escape sinking. "The trawler, in charge of skipper Jack Clarke, Shakespeare Avenue, was on her way to land her catch on the morning tide. The harbour was blanketed by very thick fog when the Lord Suffolk ran into the eastern end of the massive jetty and got jammed there. A spokesman for Norrard Trawlers, the vessel's owners, said: "It was a very serious situation. The tide was rising fast and the ship could have sunk. 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Daily Mirror
07-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
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