Raising the Bar

Feb 19, 2020

Up, up and away… our new Poolside Provisions vintage truck took to the air, soaring (carefully) three stories to be installed beside the rooftop pool. It’s the culmination of an 18-month design and renovation feat that’s given a 1960s-era Pearl beer truck new life as a poolside bar, geared up to satisfy our guests’ al fresco cravings for food and drink, once it’s opened for business in March.

In 2018, we charged our design team to design a poolside bar. They began the process at the warehouse where we store the physical history of the old brewery: equipment, ephemera… and vehicles. There she sat — dusty, dented and needing some TLC — a truck used by Pearl Brewery from the 60s through the early 90s. Her retirement was over.

Giles Design Bureau developed the new exterior design and assembled the talented team that brought the truck to life and up to the pool deck. Jeff Fetzer, FAIA, our Protector of the Historic Fabric was the master coordinator and worked closely with the construction contractor, Troy Jessee Construction, to engineer the pool deck to support the truck securely. Rolltechs Specialty Vehicles did the exterior work and On The Move Food Trucks transformed the interior into an efficient bar and kitchen. And the extraordinary crane operator from Americrane swung the van into the air and brought her in for a perfect four-point landing.

In a few short weeks the Poolside Provisions truck will refresh our guests with beverages and Chef John Brand’s sumptuous snacks, bringing Hotel Emma’s philosophy of adaptive reuse to new heights.