USA, VA: Champion Ice House Brewery set to open in Gordonsville this fall

Summer may be on its way, but people in Gordonsville will actually be seeing ice in the coming months. It will come in the form of a new brewery, WVIR reported on April 30.

The Champion Ice House Brewery is still set to open this fall on North Main Street in Gordonsville.

“The thing about the ice house concept is it is a communal concept where people come together and hang out and just enjoy each other," Co-owner Craig Hartman said.

Stony Point Development Group announced the opening of the brewery, which will be a partnership between the owner of the BBQ Exchange and Charlottesville-based Champion Brewing Company.

“The opportunity to partner with those guys and bring a brewery to Gordonsville has been super exciting," Champion Brewing Company Owner Hunter Smith said.

Alongside the iced drinks, it will feature a certain fried food coated in history.

“Gordonsville was the fried chicken capital of the world as told by Harper’s Bazaar magazine in the mid-1800s,” Hartman said.

Fans of Champion Brewery will see familiar drinks and new brews too.

“We’ve got a light lager in development that I think will be a lot of fun,” Smith said.

When restaurants do reopen, owners will have to grapple with how to maintain proper social distancing while providing an optimal customer experience. Part of that solution for the ice house is in its design.

“We’ll have communal tables and then lots of outdoor seating. So, a lot of natural light and open areas,” Smith said.

Leave those sweaters at home. This is an ice house in name only. “We are a place of warmth and love,” Hartman said.

The owners of the Champion Ice House Brewery say its menu will be reminiscent of southern hospitality.