What ales you?

Elise Gee

A helicopter, three miles of beer lines and $2.5 million later, workers

at The Yard House on Thursday fussed over finishing touches to the

Triangle Square anchor restaurant on the eve before opening its doors to

a private reception.

Hostesses wrapped silverware in napkins, busboys wiped windows to a

flawless sheen, kitchen staff sliced vegetables into perfect julienned

strips and partners Steele Platt, Steve Reynolds and Harald Herrmann

tried to keep their heads on straight.

“It’s like running a marathon where you’re at the 23rd mile,” Herrmann

said. “You’ve hit the wall. Physically you’re tired, but mentally you’re

on a high.”

When the restaurant opens its doors to the public Monday at 5 p.m., it

will bring to fruition two years of planning and just under a year of

construction. The Yard House in Costa Mesa is the first attempt at

expansion of its popular Long Beach counterpart and namesake, which

boasts 250 beers on tap.

The Triangle Square location will offer 150 beers flowing out of 180

different taps. Putting the operation together has been no easy task.

The second-floor location meant the keg room and oval-shaped bar, with

its 180 tap handles standing at attention, would need to be reinforced.

One-ton steel girders lifted by crane into the restaurant and a

helicopter was used to bring in refrigeration racks, which could not fit

up the ramps of Triangle Square. A crane was also used to lift the

restaurant’s facade into place.

“With us, the big issue was the keg room,” Herrmann said. “The keg room

is actually suspended from up above. It floats.”

The keg room will be on display to diners through quadruple-paned

windows. The restaurant also features an open kitchen near the entrance.

The restaurant’s centerpiece is the bar, which is lined with tap handles

and 36-inch “yard” glasses, from which the restaurant draws its name.

But Herrmann argues that rather than beer or liquor, the true foundation

of the restaurant is its food -- coined by The Yard House as “American

fusion.”

Diners can enjoy anything from a beer and nachos to a four-course dinner

with fine wine. The menu offers everything from California rolls to pizza

to crab-crusted swordfish.

Award-winning chef Carlito Jocson heads up the staff at The Yard House.

But on Thursday, the last thing on Jocson’s mind was eating.

“I have butterflies in my stomach,” Jocson said.

The restaurant will open nightly at 5 p.m., with lunch available on

Saturdays and Sundays. The Yard House will also offer valet parking as a

way to combat the historically confusing parking structure at Triangle

Square.

Many agree the restaurant will be a positive addition for Triangle

Square.

“I think it’ll be a real good anchor for Triangle Square,” said Mayor

Gary Monahan, who will ceremoniously tap the first keg Friday evening and

who, coincidentally, works at The Yard House in Long Beach.

Triangle Square property manager Tom Estes said he also expects the

restaurant to be a tremendous draw for the shopping center.

And even Zeb Ziemer, owner of the Goat Hill Tavern across the street,

which has 141 beers on tap, said he is open to a little friendly rivalry.

“They can’t compete against me,” Ziemer said. “I surely don’t want to see

that shopping center empty so I welcome them with open arms. The worst

thing for the whole block would be an empty building over there.”

BY THE NUMBERS

* Number of taps: 180

* Number of beers: 150

* Number of kegs: 225

* Beers from Irvine: 1

* Miles of beer line: 3

* Distance beer travels from the keg room to the bar: 90 feet

* Keg room temperature: 34 degrees

* Televisions: 17

* Ounces of beer in a yard glass: 46

* People interviewed for employment: 1,000