VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The City of Virginia Beach announced Monday that Farmhouse Brewing, LLC, is renovating the historic Wood Family farmhouse at 1805 Kempsville Road for Back Bay Brewing Co.’s second location in Virginia Beach.
Built in 1910, plans for the 8.6-acre site include tasting rooms, lounges and ADA-accessible facilities. It will also include a metal building where small-batch beer will be brewed, a pergola, fruit orchard, horseshoe area, picnic tables, open-air market, tented outdoor wedding ans special-event space and an arena for crops that will support the brewing operation.
The brewery is currently under construction and has plans to open on March 24, 2018.
The brewery recently announced plans to build an additional 2,500-square-foot building that will become the first Virginia Farm Winery in Virginia Beach. The new facility will focus on producing hard cider using Virginia apples.
Farmhouse Cidery will also add five jobs with average annual salaries of $45,000.
“Today’s announcement of Farmhouse Cidery’s new investment and jobs in Virginia Beach, and their commitment to purchase 100 percent of their apples from Virginia farmers demonstrates the impact agriculture can have in urban areas of the Commonwealth,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “Investments like this create jobs, tourism activity, and grows the tax base, while creating new markets for Virginia’s farmers as craft beverage producers look to source apples, hops, fruit, honey and other agricultural products. The announcement is a great with for Virginia’s craft beverage industry and our ongoing efforts to build a new Virginia economy.”
“This innovative land use preserves our history and creates a new destination for the Kempsville area,” said Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms. “We are also pleased to be the first cidery in the region that will focus on Virginia-made products and promote our rich agricultural heritage.”
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services worked with the City of Virginia Beach and Farmhouse Cidery to secure this project. Governor McAuliffe approved a $20,000 grand from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund.
The Virginia Beach Development Authority will also review an Economic Development Investment Program grant proposal for $20,000 based on the new $750,00 capital investment at a meeting Tuesday.
Back Bay Brewing Co., founded in 2011 by a group of Virginia Beach friends, brews an assortment of beers and prides itself on its ambitious beer flavors.
