Join Club

Your Beermonger: Stone Eying Virginia for Second Location?

Your Beermonger logo

Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

Escondido, Calif.-based Stone Brewing Company has been very publicly searching for a location on the East Coast to open a second brewery this year, and it appears that a final decision may be coming soon.

The earliest speculation had Stone settling in Horry County, S.C. near Myrtle Beach; the state legislature even proposed a bill to make South Carolina a more attractive option for breweries in general, which quickly became known as the “Stone Bill.” That bill was signed into law last week by Gov. Nikki Haley, and it seemed like Stone Brewing to South Carolina was a done deal.

This week, however, brought news of a list of “finalists;” locations on Stone’s shortlist for its new facility, along with the 300-plus jobs and  $20-30 million investment it will bring. Horry County was out, although Greenville remains on the list to keep South Carolina’s hopes alive.

We talked about the growing craft beer business in North Carolina’s Triangle region a couple of weeks ago; Greensboro is on Stone’s shortlist, with some reports mentioning Charlotte as well. Philadelphia and Cincinnati have appeared seemingly from nowhere, and then there’s Virginia: Richmond and Norfolk have both emerged as potential destinations for Stone.

The future Stone East Coast would be more than a brewery; like the World Bistro and Gardens at its original North County San Diego location, the new Stone facility would house a brewery, a packaging/distribution center, restaurant, and retail location. Richmond is attractive as a city with a long brewing history, not to mention a hotbed of up-and-coming craft breweries and restaurants.

This isn’t the first time a big-name craft brewery has seriously considered opening a location in Virginia: Sierra Nevada was seriously considering Roanoke before settling in the area of Asheville, N.C. in early 2012 (this is a great rundown of how close Sierra came to deciding on Roanoke).

Virginia’s native craft breweries are making some national noise, and that attention is opening the eyes of the industry to our state’s potential. Green Flash Brewing Company is working to get its Virginia Beach location open in 2015 — might Stone be the next San Diego craft brewer to set up shop in Virginia?

Don’t go putting any money on this on my account, but I’m going to guess “yes.” Stone President and Brewmaster Steve Wagner reportedly has said that Norfolk’s port access is intriguing, and with Stone ready to sign paperwork on the European brewery it has sought for years now (supposedly outside of Berlin, Germany according to Stone COO Patrick Tiernan) that’s going to make Norfolk very attractive. Embedding itself in the emerging Richmond craft beer scene also seems like an awfully good fit to me, too. Look for a final decision to possibly come as soon as next month.

Until next time.

Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger. Sign up for Arrowine’s money saving email offers and free wine and beer tastings at www.arrowine.com/mailing-list-signup.aspx. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Community discussion guidelines: Our sponsored columns are written by members of the local business community. While we encourage a robust and open discussion, we ask that all reviews of the businesses — good or bad — be directed to another venue, like Yelp. The comments section is intended for a conversation about the topic of the article.

Recent Stories

Last year, an attempt to broaden the Arlington police auditor’s access to police records quietly fizzled before reaching the public for discussion.

George Mason University’s new Fuse at Mason Square in Arlington, is poised to become a 345,000-square-foot collaborative and digital innovation space in the heart of the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor. “As Mason expands in…

These tree care companies serve Arlington County and received Washington Consumers’ Checkbook’s top rating for quality (as reported by their customers in Checkbook’s surveys).

Wondering about the mechanics of a green card application? Statutes of Liberty has the do’s and dont’s before application fees go up!

Award-winning drag queen Tara Hoot is bringing her Family Fun Story Time Brunch to Arlington at Freddie’s Beach Bar! Saturday April 6 at noon! Join Tara for songs, stories, puppets, bubbles and joy! It’s not just stories, it’s a SHOW that’s perfect for kids and kids at heart–fun for everyone! Plus a tasty brunch at Freddie’s! Click the link and make your reservations now! ❤️ 🫧 🌈

Submit your own Announcement here.

The Summer 2024 STEAM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Arts/Math) Fellowship application is now open! Apply by April 15 to be considered!

The STEAM Workforce Development Teacher Fellowship provides Arlington Public Schools (APS) high school, middle school, and elementary school teachers with opportunities to learn about workplace needs in STEAM-related fields and for them to use the experience to enhance student learning to match workplace expectations in a selected industry. STEAM Fellows participate in a three-week summer fellowship, receiving a $4,000 stipend upon completion.

Applicants planning to pursue a fellowship in the arts must demonstrate how they will build connections between the arts and science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.

Click the button to learn more, share, apply, and see the variety of fellowships completed in previous years.

Read More

Submit your own Announcement here.

Free Right-Sizing Workshop – How to Get Rid of Your…

Cody Chance and Dick Nathan of Long & Foster are hosting a free workshop at our office on Cherry Hill Rd. (formerly Lee Highway) on the topic of “down-sizing” Thursday, March 28 from 5:30-7:30. We have created a workbook with

Portofino Italian Wine Dinner, April 6, 6:30pm

Four course Italian dinner, paired with 2 wines each. The wines will be served “blind” and notes on each wine will be discussed. The event is coordinated with Elite Wine Importers and The Portofino Restaurant. The dinner is on Saturday,

×

Subscribe to our mailing list