USA, NC: Durty Bull Brewing Company hoping to be up and running in Gastonia in the next six to twelve months

Roughly three years ago, Zach Boshamer, co-owner of Gastonia-based investing company North of Fifth, teamed up with long-time friend and Gastonia native Jordan Doctor to bring a new brewery to the city’s FUSE District, the Gaston Gazette reported on July 3.

Doctor finished brewery school in 2020 and quickly joined the team as a co-owner and manager at Durty Bull’s original location in Durham.

Boshamer had seen the potential in the old Coca-Cola garage on South Trenton Street in Gastonia and reached out to Doctor about a possible partnership.

“It would have been more economical to tear it down,” Boshamer said.

However, “It’s kind of an architectural gem in and of itself,” he added.

According to Doctor, “Everyone saw the potential, and it was like, ‘this is going to be something special.'”

Special, but not without its challenges. According to Boshamer, the structure was in pretty bad shape when they first got it.

Designing for the building did not start until they had already made the purchase.

Despite the shape of the building, the project was estimated to be complete by spring 2023. However, COVID was a setback, and the team is now hoping to have the brewery up and running in the next six months to a year.

They have decided to keep some of the brick exposed from the original building as well as the original roof.

The team added walls inside to create an event space that will be separate from the dining area, a full kitchen, and of course, a bar with a rather large beer cooler.

The event space will be open a lot of the time, but the brewery will have the ability to close it off for private events.

The Durty Bull team is hoping to host live music, trivia nights, comedy shows, and other entertainment events at the brewery.

A lot of the live music will take place outdoors.

The backyard of the building was once a field that rose several feet above the ground level inside the building.

The team dug into that field to create a bricked-in patio space that will include a fireplace, and left part of the upper field accessible by a paved path to use as a game area for children.

Boshamer and Doctor both have children, and having a family-friendly space was important to them.

“We want this to be eclectic, diverse, and family friendly,” said Doctor.

The Gastonia location will only be able to do about one third of the brewing that the Durty Bull’s Durham location does.

While this does mean many of the staple brews offered by Durty Bull will have to be shipped from Durham, Doctor says it will enable this location to focus on, “pilot batches and specialty brews.”

Bringing a new brewery to Gastonia made perfect sense to Boshamer.

“We’ve always recognized the potential in Gastonia,” Boshamer said.

“What Cavendish has done in this space is phenomenal. There’s room for another brewery in this town. Maybe the two can feed off of each other and get people out.”

Boshamer and Doctor both find it exciting to see the growth happening in Gastonia. The two grew up in Gastonia and have known each other for a long time.

“Growing up it was always like, let’s go to Charlotte and do something,” Doctor said.

“Gastonia is really the last city within a 30-minute radius of Charlotte to see that growth,” said Boshamer.

Boshamer says he sees a need for something in this community. He believes the brewery can help fill that need.

While there is no set opening date, Gaston County residents can taste test a brew from Durty Bull at Gastonia’s July 4th celebration.

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