International Tap House (iTap) expands to the Link in the Loop building this Saturday

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Photo by George Mahe

iTap's newest location at 6217 Delmar, just west of Skinker

The International Tap House—known to most St. Louisans simply as iTap—is opening a new location this Saturday at Link in the Loop, the new three-story mixed-use building at the northwest corner of Delmar and Skinker. A CVS anchors the ground floor of the building. iTap occupies a 3,500-square-feet parcel west of CVS.

Since its inception in 2009, iTap has opened locations in Soulard and the Central West End, as well as Columbia, Kansas City, and Louisville. The CWE location closed in July of last year.

Owners Sean Conroy and Brad Lobdell were approached in 2019 by Pace Properties (agents for the Link in the Loop project) near the time that the CWE lease was coming up for renewal. Due to a variety of reasons (the pandemic being among them), the partners elected to close the three-level CWE location, put the furniture and fixtures in storage, and began negotiations for another space “with only one floor and a whole lot more parking,” Conroy says. Plus, the Loop location was within walking distance of Washington University and nearby music venues.

The decor will look familiar to patrons of the CWE iTap: the same white oak planks above the bar, the collection of tap handles, fans, tables, chairs, couches, ceiling fans, even the bicycle. Lobdell says he’s “amazed that three floors' worth of furniture fit into one spot.”

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The space has 144 seats, a retractable door that opens onto a sidewalk patio, and parking for 75 cars in the back. A semi-private room that's available for small private parties includes several video games (a new offering for iTap).

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The most striking feature is the mural, which spans the length of the main wall. It was painted by Evan Nichols of Topcoat Sign Co., whose company created signs and murals for 9 Mile Garden, Mission Taco Joint, Rise Coffee, Taco Circus, Grace Chicken & Fish, and Nomad, among others. Titled “The City Built on Beer,” it's awash with images large and small of historical references, familiar landmarks, and familiar beers—a compilation that will require multiple visits to unpack.

Similar to the other locations, iTap’s draft beers are listed on a chalkboard. A real-time feed lists them on the website as well. In-house customers can see the entire beer list (including 400 cans and bottles) via a QR code.

New at the Loop location: a whiskey shelf, with room for 40 bourbons, many of the selections discovered “by us being in bourbon’s backyard,” Conroy says of the Louisville location.

Photo by George Mahe

“The business model here is the same, except for having more whiskey and an increase in the number of draft cocktails,” he says. “With each new location, we seem to add a few more. Here, we’ll have six.”

Batched cocktails include the basics (vodka/tonic, Manhattan) “and a one-off or two,” Conroy says, all of which serve to broaden the customer base.

Several wines will be available in cans and bottles. “We tried offering wine by the glass but couldn’t sell it before it oxidized,” Lobdell says, “so we went the single-serve can and bottle route.”

The food program is the same as the other locations: Guests order from nearby restaurants and have meals delivered to them, a concept “that’s always worked for us,” Conroy says. “There are no kitchens and no plans for one. Dealing with the vagaries of dealing food never made sense to us, and we never looked back.”