EAP reaches 15 years as a temple of beer and opens a café – 10/04/2023 – Copo Cheio

“Emporium, rotisserie and restaurant coexist in the new Empório Alto dos Pinheiros”. This is how the text of the Guia da Folha, from 2008, began, written by Luiza Fecarotta — now a curator and gastronomic researcher. The report drew attention to organic products and grocery items. And, in the last line, it announced that there was a selection of “craft and imported beers (such as Belgian and English)”.

At the time, no one would certainly have said that, 15 years later, that last line was what would make Empório Alto dos Pinheiros famous, a reference in the capital of São Paulo when it comes to craft and imported beers.

“There were about 40 beers [no começo]”, remembers Paulo Almeida, who has run the house since the beginning alongside his wife, Roberta Teixeira da Costa. The couple are the heart and soul of EAP, as the place became known.

Talking about the company’s trajectory is like reviewing the history of the beer sector itself, including the boom in imports, the influx of crafts from other states and almost weekly launches of brands from São Paulo.

Paulo still speaks enthusiastically today about the beginnings of the house. It’s really difficult to ask him three questions in a row, as his attention is constantly diverted, whether it’s to receive a product, to meet a supplier, to explain something to the technician who adjusts the refrigerator or simply to greet one of the many customers. that appear. It gets tiring just following him.

Before opening EAP, Paulo already had experience in managing a space that served the public. “I’ve always worked in the theater and music field. I looked after Espaço Mambembe, it was a mix of a nightclub and theatre. And I had to provide food and beer, so that was my experience”, he says.

The idea for EAP came after Roberta did a postgraduate thesis on the inclusion of organic foods in the wholesale network. “She did extensive and really cool research, after that we said, ‘let’s open a business’.”

Currently full of businesses, such as bars and restaurants, Vupabussu street was not quite like that in 2008. Paulo, Roberta and the other partners (who have already left the business) first thought of Vila Madalena as an option for the venture.

However, the couple liked the property near the village where they lived, which previously housed a terraced bakery. After a long renovation, EAP opened offering different organic rotisserie and grocery products, so that people could eat on site or take them home.

“The inspiration was the delis in New York. Everyone buys their daily food there, it’s normal. There isn’t a block that doesn’t have a deli or rotisserie, a counter with ready-made food”, says Paulo.

The concept was to have all the best to offer the customer, whether organic, biodynamic, kosher, natural or any other seal that represented quality. “My house became a warehouse for Italian panettone”, he jokes.

In addition to the 40 beer labels, the house offered two taps of Eisenbahn draft beer, before the craft beer from Santa Catarina was sold to Schincariol — today it belongs to the Heineken group.

Beer turnaround

It wasn’t that the other products sold poorly, or that the rotisserie idea had gone wrong, but, suddenly, beer started to do really well.

At the end of the 2000s, there were still very few places to try special beers, even imported ones. Cervejaria Nacional, for example, only opened in 2011. “It was a different time. I went to Germany and drank a lot of good beer, but I didn’t take a photo, I didn’t remember the name.”

After the sale of Eisenbahn, Paulo was irritated by the service changes and found the newcomer Bamberg. One night, after closing Empório, he called his friends to taste the São Paulo brand’s styles. “We love the beer, everything is very fresh, with diversity. So I exchanged my two taps from Eisenbahn for two from Bamberg.”

Soon, he noticed an increase in demand and the two taps became four. One day, Alexandre Bazzo, owner of Bamberg, visited EAP and saw a group of eight women from Abril publishing house nearby, toasting with 500 ml mugs. “I said that day, what do you think about adding two more beer coolers? He thought it was crazy, but the beer was selling.”

Paulo not only saw beer as a business but also became interested in the product. Self-taught, he started reading books by Michael Jackson (not the singer, but the reference of beer culture), taking courses, including breweries in his trips and consuming beer forums.

One of these forums, organized by the Brejas website in 2010, made the emporium dig its heels into the hoppy world. The website was looking for addresses to hold a face-to-face meeting. “They visited me and I made everything easier for them to hold the meeting here. I gave them a 10% discount and closed the mezzanine for them. The online forum had around 80 pages, the best beer market study in São Paulo. It was at this time that the nickname began EAP”, he remembers. The Brejas meeting was a success.

Quickly, the house had 28 taps. It was a snowball, with the bar at the very beginning of the movement. It is possible to say today that the success of many breweries in São Paulo depends on the access they had to the EAP. Breweries like Dogma and Trilha (which now have branded bars) and many others had their releases at the house.

The relationship with customers, many of whom are loyal brewers, is another of Paulo’s secrets. One of them, Mauro Nakamura, passionate about dark beers, even inspired a festival. On July 14th, Mauro’s birthday, the brewery celebrates Dark Mauro Day, which brings together dozens of stouts, porters and their flavors. And Oktoberfest, wild beers, IPA day, pilsen day, among others, may also appear. There are plenty of reasons for a toast.

After serving so long as a startup consultant, Paulo doesn’t much like being treated as an industry guru (despite his house being a consumer guide). “If they take me out of here and put me in another beer business, it could go bankrupt.” But he thinks there is room for everyone, from small brewpubs to multi-brand bars, like EAP.

Oh, and how many beers are there today? “It varies a lot, 650, 700…”, trying to add it up while looking at the 18 refrigerators that surround the room. In addition to bottles and cans, EAP has 42 draft beer taps. “But today I’m without Americans… there were so many Americans”, she says in a nostalgic tone.

Finally, Paulo celebrates the increase in the “normal public”, which goes beyond beer geeks. “Today, beer is already seen as a wine. Before we used to ‘beer evangelize’, it’s no longer necessary. Now people want quality, beer is no longer something that has to be cheap.”

At 15 years old, coffee

After completing 15 years as the home of beer, EAP decided to invest in another drink, coffee. The business remains family-owned, with João Teixeira da Costa, Roberta’s brother, in the partnership. “He’s the coffee guy”, sums up Paulo, remembering that his brother-in-law took courses and visited several farms.

Almost next to the brewery headquarters, EAP Café occupies a space that was once used as a storage room for bottles and draft beers. On the wall in front of the sofas, a beautiful graffiti of a coffee plant is courtesy of artist Ciro Bicudo, from Only Hops Can Break Your Heart, who has already signed some beer labels. The drawing, in fact, also illustrates the house’s mugs.

The house espresso (R$8) is Tiger, from Unique Cafés from Minas Gerais, with medium acidity and a sweet aroma. There are also Moca or Frutado versions, from the same brand, for R$9.

For brewed coffee, there is always a selection of rare beans, such as Dude Coffee, from Caxias do Sul, a brand that also produces beers. There are four extraction methods: kalita, aeropress, V60 and French press (from R$11 to R$15, depending on the grain chosen).

To eat, EAP Café offers a versatile menu, for varied tastes and appetites, including pancakes with fruit and syrup (R$28, also in the vegan option); avocado toast with poached egg, goat cheese, cherry tomatoes and levain bread (R$ 34); and even brunch versions served all day long, such as the French Breakfast, which includes a mini baguette with brie and tomato and a basket of sweet puff pastries, for R$52.

And, of course, there is a refrigerator with great options of beers with coffee in the formula, such as the Dádiva Bioma stout, the Synergy Blonde Arábica or the Zalaz Amantik Coffea, in the EAP style.

Empório Alto dos Pinheiros – r. Vupabussu, 305, Pinheiros, @eapsp
EAP Café – r. Vupabussu, 339, Pinheiros, @eapcafe