Matthew Jimenez went on a beautiful Saturday drive with his family when they drove by Pour Decisions on San Benito Street.
The family saw something going on and they decided to park the car, making their way to the unimaginable.
“We saw the [wrestling] ring and we were like, ‘What the hell is that?’” Jimenez said. “I grew up watching wrestling, since we were little. The Rock, Triple X and all that stuff.”
Pour Decisions co-owner Joe Nguyen said he wanted to go out with a bang for the taproom’s 2-year anniversary Beer Brawl bash.
So, he invited the Underground Wrestling Alliance who took over a portion of 7th Street in downtown Hollister on July 23.
“This year, the idea kind of just happened when someone brought up the idea of having a wrestling match,” Nguyen said. “It kind of evolved and we started looking into it.”
Wrestling fans of all ages were entertained by some good old fashion clobber knocking and body slamming action. Some were sporting shirts with Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The taproom also had its featured beer, “Rest in Yeast”, which displayed World Wrestling Entertainment legend The Undertaker and his manager, the late Paul Bearer on the can.
The beer was a collaboration with Narrative Fermentations in San Jose. Nguyen said this also happens to be the year that Undertaker gets inducted into the Hall of Fame, which was perfect timing.
“We kind of pulled it all together,” Nguyen said. “I said ‘Hey, if we’re going to do this, let’s do a beer garden, let’s close down the street.’ Let’s get all the 90s wrestling fans to come out and have a good time.”
Jimenez, who grew up watching wrestling, said watching the live action made him want to wrestle his brother in the ring.
“It’s family oriented,” Jimenez said as he pointed to the crowd. “Look, everyone is having a good time. It’s awesome.”
Nguyen said having the street closure was not an easy task. They had to go through a lot with the city and county entities to get the event signed off.
A group of emergency medical technicians had to be on hand and a security team also had to present.
“We were trying to stress that this is a family-friendly show from the beginning,” Nguyen said. “We’re a family-friendly environment every single day we operate. We just want to make sure it transcends into a full event as well. At the end of day we met with all of their demands.”
Nguyen said he and fellow co-owners Jon Cuilla and Nick Donaldson try to keep the place fun and creative, evolving into something exciting.
The trio opened in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and managed to survive their first year. They celebrated their one-year anniversary by expanding the taproom with an arcade section.
This year they brought in some wrestling and it was another success.
“Kind of like Madonna,” Nguyen said. “Every single year something else, something new, something funky.”
It’s kind of like what they do with their rotation of new beers by keeping it as fresh as possible.
Nguyen said if they don’t have a beer in stock or it’s not on the draft list, they’ll try to get it in for them.
They have some projects in the works but nothing is cemented, yet. But if it’s anything like they’ve been doing the past two years then we should be in store for a good one.
“We really truly look for our customer’s input,” he said. “I think that’s what’s keeping everyone coming back.”
