Rather than soapy water, suds from IPAs, stouts and pilsners could flow from taps at the former Quick Splash Car Wash at 310 W. Brookland Park Blvd.
Brandon Tolbert, until recently the head brewer at The Answer Brewpub, is collaborating with restaurant industry veteran Chris Campanella on plans to open the Safety Team Brewing Co. on land owned by investor and developer Cory Weiner of CW Performance Group.
Campanella says he began his career as a busboy at Morton's The Steakhouse in Richmond before moving to Vancouver and Houston and working his way up to assistant general manager. After returning to Richmond, he worked as a general manager and beverage manager at Southbound and waited tables at Edo's Squid. He met Tolbert through a co-worker, and they started talking about starting their own venture. The brewery's name stems from Campanella's days in a band that would call "Safety Team" meetings as a code for getting together to have a drink.
The 8,550-square-foot parcel is valued at $50,000, according to Richmond property records, and sold for $25,000 in February. Built in 1950, the car wash would be torn down to build a brewery and tasting room with outdoor seating and possibly a second floor, Weiner says. He plans to file a special use permit application in the next week, and the brewery could open in about a year. Campanella says he expects to employ 20 to 30 people there.
Weiner, Tolbert and Campanella outlined the brewery plans Thursday evening at a packed meeting of the Brookland Park Area Association, which also heard an update from LaMar Dixon of Dixon/Lee Development Group on the old bank building at 201 W. Brookland Park Blvd.
Some residents at the meeting asked if a brewery is what the neighborhood needs,raising concerns about whether it would be family friendly and whether it would encourage substance abuse. But Weiner called it "a step in the right direction," noting that it would offer a gathering place and help bring people to the neighborhood.
Originally developed around a streetcar line, Brookland Park has seen substantial residential renovation during the past several years, but redevelopment of its commercial strip has had some recent setbacks, including the closing of the Luncheonette (and later Dixie Bell's Burger Bar and Eggspress), Northside Foodland and the Two Pillars Tattoo & Sign Shop.
Regarding the bank building, Dixon says that he has an agreement with Virginia Union University to collaborate on a business accelerator that would open next year, with construction starting this fall. Dixon's team also presented a video rendering of the new space (shown below). He says he plans to hold informational meetings this summer about the $1.2 million project, which includes $200,000 from the city of Richmond.
Video by Thomas (Trades) LLC courtesy Dixon/Lee Development Group
