Beer garden serves workouts with brews
Happy hour on Thursdays at Constitution Yards Beer Garden just got a bit more guilt-free.
Say hello to Bend and Brew.
From the second week of July through (hopefully) October, the Wilmington Riverfront's beer garden on Justison Street will offer one hour of free, outdoor yoga and other fitness classes with the promise of cold beer mere steps away.
"Yoga, then beer. It sounded good to me," said Courtney Kendall, 31, stretching her legs on the grassy lawn in front of the beer garden's entrance. People trickled in an out of the garden, sandwiched between multi-colored box cars, as a game of corn hole began to set up.
Kendall and her wife Pam, 33, made the trek from Middletown for the sun-kissed exercise session.
In a partnership with Real Flexi, a company that offers one fitness membership to a variety of studios from body pump to Bikram Yoga, classes begin after work at around 5:30 p.m.
Founded by Lisa Quigley, a University of Delaware grad, the company teams up with gyms and studios across Maryland from the Baltimore metro-area to Harford and Annapolis, as well as Delaware and Pennsylvania to give people better access to a slew of exercise classes to challenge and keep them entertained.
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Hosting outdoor events is a great way to showcase the different fitness specialties, Quigley said. The plan is to include a CrossFit and Zumba demonstration, as well as moonlit yoga.
A different instructor will teach each week. On Thursday, Meredith McFadden from Pure Yoga Pilates Studio in Trolley Square, kicked off a sweat session for over 20 people.
"You get the people who may not have gone into the studio," Quigley said.
The beer is not a bad draw either.
"It's so much fun to incorporate exercise with an experience," she added.
The hope is continue to offer classes through October, so long as Constitution Yards obtains a two-years license to operate next week.
Neighbors along the Riverfront complained about noise and parking issues that have stemmed from the beer garden, prompting the state alcohol commissioner to give it another look.
The state alcohol commissioner gave the Riverfront Development Corporation, which oversees the beer garden, a temporary license and a decision on the longer permit will come by Tuesday.
"This is a huge draw," said Susie Tomko, 25, an amateur yogi who lives in Wilmington and works at DuPont. "That wouldn't have happened if this wasn't here."
Tomko said she tried doing paddleboard yoga on the water, but realized she's more equipped for yoga with a mat on a dry surface.
The Bend and Brew sessions have inspired her to be more consistent with her yoga practice, she said while enjoying a pink-labeled Priscilla's White Wit Wheat beer in the shade of a Dogfish Head Brewery umbrella.
"You get outdoors and in the sunshine," Tomko said.
Jen Rini can be reached at (302)324-2386 or jrini@delawareonline.com. Follow @JenRini on Twitter.
IF YOU GO: Bend and Brew
What: Free yoga, fitness classes
Where:Constitution Yards Beer Garden, 308 Justison St., Wilmington
When: Thursdays, 5:30 p.m.