Claudia S.
Yelp
Had to scrap my initial review, because my opinion of Great Central has definitely changed since the first couple of visits.
Came here with friends (I'm not going to name them, because that's dumb, and I'm pretty sure you, the reader, doesn't care) and had a nice time, but didn't think I'd come back anytime soon. Then one day we were in the area and I suggested it, and then that happened a few more times and now it's one of my low key favorite spots.
The staff is ehh. Some are friendly, some will ignore you for a bit, but the good ones always outweigh their grumpy counterparts and their security guard is hands down my favorite person here! He is SO nice and welcomes you with a big smile.
The space is gorgeous, for being quite simple, really. All the natural lighting during the day is refreshing. Huge windows that can be opened (or closed, if you're chilly) with pillows to lean against if you sit on the windowsill bench as well as plenty of communal benches and tables. Some comfy chairs and ottomans and plenty of board games around. They've even added shuffleboard and a ping pong table as well as giant Connect 4! You can take the elevator upstairs to the bathroom, or walk up the 40ish something stairs. I've drunkenly counted them before, it's a fun activity to keep you alert, but of course I can't remember how many there are now.
I wish they'd switch the ping pong table to where the chairs and ottomans are (even though I like that setup) or even find a way to move it near the shuffleboard, because I feel like we're always in the danger zone of a ping pong ball to the head, or beer (in which case I'd chug it like a 'murican at a baseball game) but it's not the worst.
I believe trivia will resume in September and though we only went a couple times, it wasn't ever too crowded, but was fun, whether it was 2 of us or 5 of us.
Great Central contract brewing while having a taproom that serves their beers as well as those other brews is a smart concept. They don't have a kitchen (so feel free to bring in food), though I heard a rumor they were going to have one, which made me laugh, because they made sure to specifically put on their site that they focus on beer, not food. If they did do food, I have a pretty cool idea of what they could do, but I'm hoping that rumor was false and that food truck and pop-ups will remain instead.
For some affordable beers ($6 for a pint) and a spacious and pretty chill spot, check out Great Central.