Soon it won’t just be domestic 40s behind the bar at Paula & Raiford’s Disco; beginning Friday, March 25th, you can try Paula Raiford’s very own seltzer and Robert Raiford’s beer.
Raiford’s owner, Paula Raiford, will introduce the “Hollywood Hustle” beer and “Disco Dynamite” seltzer at a private sneak preview at 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 21st at Grind City Brewing Company. The brewery created both beverages.
For some time, Paula had been trying to get a beer made to honor her dad. Various attempts “faded away,” she says. She tried a few breweries, but nothing ever got off the ground. A friend from Athens Distributing suggested she talk to Grind City Brewing Company.
The friend got Paula in contact with Grind City sales director Lane Stluka and president Hopper Seely at the beginning of 2020. When she met with them “their faces lit up like, ‘Let’s go,’” Paula says. “And it went on from there.”
“Hollywood Hustle is your classic American pilsner,” Stluka says. “Your easy drinking chuggable beer. Disco Dynamite is a gin and juice seltzer. You’re going to get that pretty subtle orange juice feel going down.”
Grind City is excited to partner with Paula. “I’ve built a relationship with Paula over the last few years,” Stluka continues.
He’s impressed with “the way Paula is with people. And she’s just so full of life and has such a good name. And she believes in her family. Everything she does makes people feel so welcome. And she brings such positive energy.”
It was a perfect partnership because it’s “something she cares about. It’s got her name on it. Her dad’s name on it.”
And, Stluka says, both products are “light, easy, drinkable.”
Paula originally wanted to introduce the beer and seltzer on her dad’s birthday, August 23, but missed that date. The “next significant” dates were her birthday, March 21st, and her dad’s death date, March 22nd. “So, we’re celebrating two in one.”
In addition to letting people sample the beer and seltzer March 21st, Paula is going to bring the dance floor, the disco ball, and a deejay. “I’m bringing Raiford’s to Grind City.”
Other than the launch party, both drinks will exclusively be available at Paula & Raiford’s Disco, Paula says.
Paula & Raiford’s Disco is at 14 S. Second Street; (901) 521-2494
Grind City Brewing Company is at 76 Waterworks Avenue; (901) 545-2337
