A portrait of Will Ferrell hangs at Clem’s Tap House with the actor holding a flight of Clem’s beers. In Clem’s Bottle House and Deli, another portrait of Ferrell holding a microphone, giving the thumbs up, is signed “Thanks Clem’s.”
“Yeah, he comes here all the time,” Paul Kasawdish said, a family member of the tap house’s owner. “He’s a big (India pale ale) fan. I send him Pliny the Elder every once in while. When he’s here, no one really bothers him.”
Clem’s has been family owned since 1987. The Kasawdish family founded a place to offer an exceptional selection of craft brew, liquor and wine, and the business was later handed off to the Kasawdish family.
“It’s a whole new thing now,” Wally Kasawdish said, owner and father of the family. “We’ve been here for 35 years now and changed everything around.”
Clem’s carries drinks from more than 500 breweries at its liquor store and tap house. The majority of bottles sold rated within the range of B- to A+ on BeerAdvocate and RateBeer websites.
The deli offers a standard options, including regular sandwiches such as pastrami and roast beef, specialty sandwiches such as the Charger and the Sledgehammer, and torpedo submarine sandwiches.
“If someone’s a beer connoisseur, I tell them to go to Clem’s,” local and patron Michael Jackson said.
According to the Clem’s Bottle House and Deli website, some of their latest beer arrivals include Allagash Confluence Ale, Stillwater Stateside Saison and Uinta Detour.
Located in Kensingon on Adams Avenue, the tap house has been open for about three years. The Kasawdish family bought out a bookstore to expand their business and selection of beer service.
“The bottle shop is like an anchor,” Paul said.
The tap house promotes an intimate setting. It stocks more than 30 tap beers, and it offers a selection of 30 various craft beer bottles that can be poured at the bar. Regulars are treated to a sophisticated ambience and a single TV.
“It’s always stocked,” local and regular Cristian Bron said. “Everyone’s always so nice. They have the best sandwiches, and everyone appreciates you. It’s the same five people every day, and it’s great to see the father hand down the trade to his sons.”
