Raleigh Brewing Company president Kristie Nystedt answered a few of our questions in the midst of opening their second location.
She shares about how the new Cary taproom will be different, and what it’s like to open during a pandemic.
Q1: Let’s talk about the new location! How long has it been in the works, and why did you choose the Arboretum in Cary?
We have been working on additional taproom locations over the last 2 years. We chose the Arboretum spot because it is an area that we feel we can contribute to enhance the live, work play environment.
We like to enhance the neighborhood and community feel of spaces we go into and there were several national brands in this space so a more local feel to the Triangle is where we could add value to the Arboretum.
Q2: How will it be different from what people know of the Raleigh location?
The Neil Street location is in a large warehouse where we also house our other 3 companies, Atlantic Brew Supply, a national homebrew supply e-commerce company and ABS Commercial, an international commercial brewing equipment company.
The Arboretum location is exclusively Raleigh Brewing in the space.
We have brought several components of our Neil Street location to this space although you will get more of an English Pub feel from the Arboretum space.
But again all of the things that make breweries a great part of the community in addition to the great beer will also be brought here (i.e. RBC Fleet Feet run club, RBC Cycle Club and even yoga) when it is safe to do so.
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Q3: What is it like to open a new taproom during this time?
It has definitely been interesting to say the least as a brewery owner in addition to opening a new space.
Our original opening date was delayed by a month but I have to say we are now one of the most deep cleaned, sanitized and disinfected places around 🙂
I always believe it is better to start with the most conservative safety and sanitation practices and fine tune processes as you move forward.
Opening with the NC DHHS guidance has definitely helped us master sanitation processes of public concern. We will all get through this together.
Q4: Is there anything you want people to know about visiting the two locations?
We (opened) both taprooms (Thursday) as of 3 p.m. with reopening Phase II restrictions in place (hours are Tuesday-Saturday 3-10 p.m., Sunday 12-6 p.m. We are looking forward to safely see and serve our customers again. We appreciate your support and love you have been showing us during this transition. None of this is perfect so please continue to be kind and patient.
Q5: Which of your beers will you personally drink first to celebrate, and why?
I will drink a Hell Yes Ma’am to celebrate. The name says it all 🙂 It was definitely an act of perseverance to get to this reopening and we are grateful to be here — Cheers!
