The Brass Tap craft beer chain eyes expansion into several Hampton Roads cities

A Florida-based restaurant and taphouse chain is expanding in one Hampton Roads city and looking for partners in others, according to its CEO.

The Brass Tap restaurant chain has partnered with a Virginia Beach franchisee and is looking for more, CEO Chris Elliott said Jan. 18.

Each Brass Tap location has dozens of beer taps plus a food menu, mixed drinks, live music and other events, Elliott said.

“Our goal is to be the neighborhood gathering spot,” Elliott said. “That’s why we kept the footprint small and intimate.”

Army veteran Franklin Herring opened the Williamsburg location with 60 taps in mid-2020 during the pandemic. That restaurant has space for 100 people inside and 50 more on the patio, the owner told The Virginian-Pilot in 2020.

The brand, which Elliott says has 51 locations, was founded in 2008 as a smaller, craft beer-only affair. Elliott’s company, which also owns sports bar chain Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, purchased The Brass Tap in 2012. His company added a food menu, a larger restaurant size and televisions for sporting events, among other enhancements.

Expanding beyond beer is a reason The Brass Tap has been successful in the era of brewery closures nationwide, Elliott said.

Norfolk mainstay O’Connor Brewing Co. shut down its taproom in July, opting to go retail-only. San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing Co., the oldest craft brewery in the nation, also closed in July after declining sales, according to Associated Press reporting.

Elliott said the Virginia Beach franchisee is still looking for a location. He mentioned Newport News specifically as another city where the company would like to partner with franchisees.

Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com