NORFOLK, Va. — If you stop by Norfolk Candle, you might notice a candle with a unique name. It's called "Local Woke Mob."
Brandon Brinkley, Norfolk Candle CEO/owner, has been making the product in small batches and selling it for nearly a week.
"It's sold out four times," said Brinkley. "It's definitely the best seller of the month. Might be the best seller of the year so far."
The candle was named shortly after Armed Forces Brewing Company announced it was relocatingout of Norfolk due to what it called a "local woke mob." The brewery's claim stems from pushback it received after one of its executives publicly criticized the Navy for its use of a drag performer as a recruitment ambassador.
After the relocation announcement, News 3 spoke with businesses who shared invoices and claimed they did business with the brewery and weren't fully paid.
"We're definitely going to be hurting from not receiving this payment from them," hop grower Matt Miles told News 3 on Monday.
Recent SEC filingsshow the brewery lost millions of dollars both before and after opening the Norfolk location. The filings report the company lost more than $2.4 million in 2023 and $1.7 million in the first half of 2024. The company explained in the report that that loss was due to increased salaries, rent and costs associated with ramping up the new brewing facility and taproom.
A notice from the Norfolk Treasurer's Office was posted on the brewery door Monday. It warned that the property, and other company property in Virginia, would be levied or sold to pay owed taxes. Online records on Monday showed that the company owed close to $13,000 in real estate taxes.
After the brewery's announcement, the phrase "local woke mob" garnered a lot of attention. Some community members approached it with humor, wanting to take back ownership.
"We were like okay well if they're using woke in that way we can use it in a more positive way," said Brinkley. "Reclaiming words like 'queer,' making it positive, claiming 'woke,' not using 'snowflake' as a negative thing, it gives us a little more power and community."
Brinkley has been pleasantly surprised in the community's reaction to his candle. It's a candle he says celebrates unity, resilience, and smells good too.
"The newest [batch] is orange lavender and tonka. It's kind of a masculine scent and makes you think of a library," said Brinkley.
Brinkley told News 3 a $3 donation from each of the sales is going to the nonprofit Freedom to Read Foundation.
Others in the community, like the 757 Creative ReUse Center, have embraced the "local woke mob" rebranding too.
We reached out to Armed Forces Brewing Company multiple times to find out when and where the brewery will be moving and have not received a response.
