At the Brew Pub, Last Call

Owner Blames Ailing Economy

by Charity Corkey

Thursday, September 4, 2008

For more than a decade, the Old Dominion Brewpub was a place revered by beer lovers in Loudoun County and beyond.

The low-rise, red brick building in an Ashburn office park was nondescript, and the bar and dining room decor was sparse. But patrons could choose from among 20 draft beers made on site by Old Dominion Brewing, and that gave the restaurant a special aura.

Last week, the brew pub's 12-year run came to an end. In a brief announcement on its Web site, Coastal Brewing, which bought Old Dominion Brewing in March 2007, said it was closing the pub so it could focus on its brewing operations. The pub's last day was Aug. 25.

Jerry Bailey, one of the pioneers of the microbrewery movement in the Washington area, founded Old Dominion in 1990 and opened the pub six years later.

It quickly became a popular spot among a diverse mix of customers. AOL employees liked to hang out at lunch and after work. Runners and cyclists would stop there, too, noting the pub's location just off the W&OD Trail; those not inclined toward alcohol could opt for the homemade root beer. Some ate at Old Dominion mostly to watch the amber bottles moving down the brewery's asx sembly line, a view afforded by the tall windows in the walls.

Photo: Chris Spielmann

Charity Corkey

The Old Dominion Brewpub in Ashburn.

"It was one of the best places to go for lunch, for happy hour, and especially to take out-of-town visitors," said former AOL employee Tammi Marcoullier. "Just last month, we had a send-off there for our friend."

The pub offered special tastings and beer-oriented dinners. Old Dominion also hosted a summer festival for eight years in a grassy field behind its building, featuring beer from dozens of regional breweries and a lineup of musical acts.

Bailey was a mentor to other brewers and brew pub operators, freely giving advice on equipment and grains to his competitors. When he sold the company last year to Coastal Brewing, a joint venture of Maryland-based Fordham Brewing and Anheuser-Busch of St. Louis, some of Old Dominion's regulars worried that the brew pub would lose its community-oriented flavor.

"It is worse than what many local fans predicted," Marcoullier said of the pub's closing. "It was a great community gathering place, and unlike chain restaurants, it had a good local vibe."

Mike Peffley, who lives in Ashburn Farm and had frequented the pub for nine years, said he enjoyed "the small-town feel of having a brewery nearby." He also was among the many customers who bought a "growler" from the pub — a glass container of a little more than a half-gallon that he would fill with one of the beers on tap, bring home and then take back periodically for refillings.

"It's disappointing to know that the brew pub is gone and there will be no more beer tastings or growler runs," Peffley said. "I will continue to drink OD and support the local brewery as long as they are putting out the product, but I will very much miss the atmosphere of drinking beer fresh from the brewer."

But the pub wasn't drawing enough business to justify the cost of running it, said Casey Hollingsworth, vice president of sales and marketing at Coastal Brewing. Shutting it down was a difficult decision, but it was necessary for the brewery to remain financially viable, he said.

"The casual dining scene has taken a massive hit in the economy," Hollingsworth said. "We weren't happy [about closing], but people weren't coming."

"We have not yet decided what we will do with the pub space," he added. "We are exploring our options at this point."

Hollingsworth said the new owners of Old Dominion are not "the dark side," as many of the company's old fans might perceive.

"We have the best intentions to continue the rich heritage that Jerry Bailey started," he said. "We're focusing all our time and energy now to brewing great beer."

Coastal Brewing sells and markets Old Dominion and Fordham brands. In its announcement of the pub's closing, the company said the decision "will have no impact on other operations of Coastal Brewing Company. Brands under both the Old Dominion and Fordham names will continue to be distributed and marketed along the east coast of the U.S."

Hollingsworth noted that although local favorites such as Dominion Lager, Victory Amber and Dominion Oak Barrel Stout no longer will be served at the brewery site in Ashburn, Old Dominion brews will continue to be available at most grocery stories, as well as on draft at many bars and restaurants.

Although Old Dominion won't be throwing its beer festival anymore, the brewery will participate this fall in the Northern Virginia Brewfest in Centreville and in other area festivals in the future, Hollingsworth said.

Tagged: Ashburn, Economy, Old Dominion Brewpub

Your Thoughts...

Are you happy that the school year is over?