Today we are spotlighting one of Edgewater’s businesses that has been showcasing their products at Edgewater Market and Music each Thursday night. Here is our interview with Edgewater resident Josh Mers of Shirts on Tap:
How did you get involved in this business?
Shirts On Tap was started in a garage in San Diego by a long-time friend of mine, Dave, after he had finished up service in the Marine Corp. The craft beer industry was chosen as the company’s niche because ultimately we love working with other entrepreneurs who are passionate about their work. The beer industry is unlike any other and we’ve found that’s its more about collaboration than competition. Like many of the breweries we help promote, the company quickly found its way from the garage into a 2,000 sq. ft. facility and it was around this time that mine and Dave’s mutual friend, Alec, was brought on board to help with expansion. Success in San Diego continued and it was decided that another city should be able to benefit from such an awesome monthly box club and the obvious choice was Denver, CO. I had moved to Denver from San Diego about the time Shirts On Tap was initially started and I began to head up Denver operations in April of 2016. We featured our first brewery in June, which was of course Joyride Brewing, right here in Edgewater! We’ve been amazed and humbled at how quickly the Denver community has embraced us and we’re excited to continue to grow here and hopefully expand to other cities as well!
What drew you to move to Edgewater?
My fiancée, Alex, and I began shopping for a home a couple of years ago and discovered Edgewater one lazy Sunday while driving somewhat aimlessly around Denver to check out different neighborhoods. As we drove down 25th Street we first noticed an old-school pizza joint and a tavern. Our interest grew as we saw a Thai place and we knew we had found home when we saw a brewery right next to lake! After that we had our sights set on purchasing our first home in Edgewater and we were fortunate enough to find one in August of 2012. What we have ultimately come to love about Edgewater is its quaint feel despite its convenient proximity to downtown, and that its thoughtful preservation of history is met with a willingness to move forward into the exciting future that the Denver area has a head of it.
What services/products do you offer?
Shirts On Tap is a monthly box club for craft beer fans and our motto is simple: “Drink better beer. Wear better shirts.” Our goals are to keep the community connected with its growing craft beer scene, support local business, and have fun doing it! We feature a different local craft brewery each month and partner with them to design a custom shirt that represents their brewery and is also exclusive to our members. Along with that t-shirt, our members receive a sticker, a write-up about the brewery, as well as invites to a special events in their monthly box. Aside from our box club, Shirts On Tap is also a full production print shop. We fancy ourselves a one stop shop that specializes in the craft beer scene, but we love working with all local businesses!
What makes your business unique?
All of our designing and printing takes place in-house. Similar to brewing, screen-printing is a manual process that involves hand-crafting goods. You start with an idea, and after going through a series of processes you end up with a final product that was created with the sole purpose of making someone happy. We are passionate about what we do and we’re are always working to improve ourselves and the services we provide. We certainly love beer and shirts, but we also love the personal relationships that come along with doing business with all the companies we work with, because we know we will be printing their merchandise for years to come.It’s often said that the craft beer industry feels like one big family, and we don’t think there’s any reason that working with screen-printing company can’t be the same way!
Please visit us at www.shirtsontap.com and use promo code DENVER to get 50% of your first month!
Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.
Would hope by now, after having lived in Edgewater for 4 years, that Mr. Mers has discovered he was driving down 25th AVE., not 25th ST.!