Grab A Mug: Hot Plate Brewery Adds Coffee Service Alongside Its Beer Lineup
Hot Plate Brewing in Pittsfield is now a coffee house by day, a brewery by night, and sometimes both at once.
Photo courtesy of Hot Plate Brewing
Hot Plate Brewery in downtown Pittsfield opened in 2023, but it has already become a community hub and a generous supporter of local nonprofit organizations such as the Berkshire United Way and Berkshire Pride. It hosts Halloween events, trivia contests, LGBTQIA+ speed dating meetups, Berkshires Jazz jams, and some new-and-unusual ones too (such as a Barre & Brews on Nov. 24, at which Jillian from On Point Barre will lead customers through a one-hour barre class followed by a pint of beer). Co-founders Sarah Real and Mike Dell-Aquila have made it their mission to create a safe, welcoming, and inclusive third space. That’s where their new coffee service comes in.
“We’ve always been very clear about the fact that we want to be inclusive,” says Dell’Aquilla. The couple were also aware that Gen Z is drinking less as a generational cohort. “We knew it would be something we’d have to navigate. People have cannabis options and the pandemic hit when a lot of the that generation was turning 21. They couldn’t go to the bars like other generations in their early 20s were doing.” And, of course, there’s a population that doesn’t drink alcohol, period.
Customers across the board have expressed interest in spending time at the spacious tap room, but it didn’t have a wide enough selection for them to stop in. Families would come in after visiting the Berkshire Museum, and one would want coffee or tea. Others would want to use the taproom as a space to read or get some work done, but they weren’t necessarily ready for a beer.
There was a business opportunity there.
“We thought, we pay rent on the taproom for 24 horus a day, but if we expanded what we do, we could make more revenue,” Dell’Aquila says. Now the space can be used more hours of the day. It’s somewhat altruistic but it’s being smart about monetizing the space, he admits.
Being the community-minded owners they are, Real and Dell-Aquila found a local coffee partner in Six Depot Roastery in West Stockbridge, which sent a trainer to work with the staff. Six Depot also steered them towards an equipment seller and helped them purchase the right barista machine for their needs. They hired two baristas and added baked goods. Future plans include staging popups from local bakeries, and in the colder months, offering hot chocolate and apple cider. Coffee service is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m-11 a.m., then Hot Plate reopens at 3 p.m. for full bar service. Weekend coffee service begins at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, open throughout the day.
In the first week of the new offerings, Dell-Aquila says, he was happy to see a nice combination of regulars stopping in to get a morning coffee, as well as new people coming in. And hey, considering that Hot Plate is the home of the Berkshire County Chapter of the Silent Book Club, coffee’s a must, right?
“The Silent Book Club is probably one of my personal favorites things we do, along with the BYO Vinyl Night,” Dell’Aquila says. Hosted on the third Sunday of the month, book lovers are encouraged to bring their own snacks, socialize (or not) for a bit, then hunker down and read for a while, accompanied by a coffee or a beer.
“We’ve always envisioned this space as being welcoming, whether the guests were fans of craft beer or not,” Dell’Aquila says. “The coffee program will help support that.”
