USA, NJ: Kings Road Brewing moving to brand new space in Haddonfield
Even since before opening in downtown Haddonfield, one of the primary operational goals for Kings Road Brewing has been integrating with the borough business district, NJ Pen reported on May 30.
After 18 months, co-owner Bob Hochgertel believes weve become that thread in the fabric of the community were looking for.
To date, its collaborations have included locally sourced ingredients (partnering with Saxbys for a coffee milk stout), supporting neighbors in-store events (Books and Brews at Inkwood), and providing a takeaway option for restaurant-goers in a historically dry town.
Restaurants have said when were open theyre seeing increased sales, and were seeing a huge number of patrons with takeout packages. Hochgertel said. People are staying in town because they can get their beer and food in the same town.
But in the next few months, the entire operation is shifting into a brand new space just across the narrow alley of Mechanic Street, expanding its footprint, and setting down deeper roots into the historic Haddonfield shopping district.
The 800-square-foot brewery has become an unofficial hot spot for office parties, meet-and-greets, and other events, Hochgertel said. Owners field more requests for private parties than the tiny space can accommodate, a circumstance the new tasting room will remedy without compromising its feelalbeit with an annual cap, thanks to new rules established by the state division of Alcoholic Beverage Control this week.
One of the comments we get is people love how cozy it is here, Hochgertel said.
With the way the larger space is divided, were going to duplicate the coziness but have more space to do that.
Coziness is nice for establishing a pub feel, but having a 2,800-square-foot workspace with a 2,400-square-foot basement will give Kings Road a lot more room to expand operations.
The new digs will expand into a seven-barrel brewhouse with a 15-barrel fermenter system, and that extra production will leverage a larger, lower-level cold storage area.
That bigger footprint also makes room for brewers to stretch their wings a bit more, expanding into new styles they hadnt had room to accommodate previously, and establishing a barrel-aging program. The increased production will allow Kings Road to offer limited distribution of its product at bars and restaurants, plus canning and bottling special-release beers.
In an ever-crowded craft beer market, the tasting room will still be top priority, Hochgertel said.
I see that there is way too much competition on the shelves with bottles and cans, but thats not the model were following, he said.
Outside, the new Kings Road cleaves well to the downtown Haddonfield style, with a slate roof, copper downspouts, and brick façade. Inside, Hochgertel said the new location will take some style cues from the Sierra Nevada taproom in North Carolina.
Theyve created a space thats fun, and its inviting for the family, but you never lose sight of the fact that youre at a brewery, he said of Sierra Nevada. The experience of being at the place is worth a visit.
Once the new Kings Road location is operationala Labor Day 2019 opening is the goalHochgertel said hell likely be adding staff for its dedicated retail space, tasting room, additional brewing shifts, and limited distribution needs.
Most of all, hes happy with how the product is being received.
We started this 18 months ago, not knowing if we were going to be embraced by the majority of the community, Hochgertel said. Weve been able to hire three brewers that have a serious pedigree.
Were brewing really good beer and its getting better all the time.
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