A few quick hits this month. Silver Branch is staying busy. In May they announced a satellite brewery in Wheaton, Maryland, slated to open in 2027. Before that, look for a taproom with their Mosaic Pizza concept in Leesburg as soon as this fall. Silver Branch hasn’t forgotten about their second largest location in Warrenton, which should reopen before Wheaton as well. Local Loudoun site The Burn has more on Leesburg. No brewing on site.
Crooked Run will also not be brewing on site for their latest, a taproom in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood. 2300 Mount Vernon Ave might open as soon as Labor Day, and the centerpiece of the small food menu is chicken tenders. Crooked Run’s co-founder and co-owner Jake Endres notes that these will be gluten-free, and vegetarians will have options as well. Again, no brewing on site, but another brewery trying to meet customers where they are.
Keeping it Del Ray, the latest from Neighborhood Restaurant Group is… a record store. Crooked Beat left Del Ray, though it looks like they’re coming back, so here’s hoping the area can support two shops. “Chef Nathan Anda, NRG Beverage Director Extraordinaire Greg Engert and I will be opening a record store at 2016 Mount Vernon Ave. This is something that Nate, Greg and I have dreamed about for years as we’ve opened restaurants and vinyl bars like the B-Side in Merrifield and Junebug in the Warehouse District in New Orleans,” says NRG head Michael Babin. We last saw him, and Anda at the Black Cat in May for British shoegazers Chapterhouse, and we’ll note that NRG restaurants usually have excellent soundtracks.
We assume there will be no beer at the record store on a regular basis, but we also assume there is going to be an intra-NRG beer with Bluejacket at some point, and maybe we’ll see a music-beer collaboration with a band or two down the line. Look for a late-August opening.
Save the date! The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) annual OktoberForest Fest will be held on Sunday, September 13 from 11am-4pm at Fine Creek Brewing in Powhatan, VA.
From a press release: “For the 5th year in a row, we are working with Virginia craft breweries—including Fine Creek Brewing in Powhatan, Väsen Brewing Company in Richmond, Big Ugly Brewing in Chesapeake, Selvedge Brewing in Charlottesville, Sojourn Fermentory in Suffolk and Upweller Beer Co in Suffolk—to create the ultimate OktoberForest Virginia Collection. This collection includes six different beers, one by each craft brewery, using ingredients collected from TNC’s signature landscapes.”
