Distro Beer Hub Applies the Food Hall Model to Craft Beer

Considering Charlotte’s insatiable need for the shiny and new, keeping a brewery alive for 15 years is nothing short of a miracle. After seeing countless breweries open and close over the years, Heist Brewery founder Kurt Hogan has learned what works and what doesn’t.

“Breweries are still very popular, but it’s important to be continually innovative so that the experience isn’t the status quo.”

Before the pandemic, Hogan saw the success that Optimist Hall was seeing just down the street from Heist’s flagship location in NoDa and wondered if something similar could be applied to the craft beer world. He wanted to combine the social dining experience people look for in breweries while cultivating a different experience from what people have grown used to in the city’s many taprooms or brewpubs.

After years of fine-tuning, Hogan’s idea is finally becoming a reality with Distro Beer Hub, which he expects to open on Distribution Drive in South End before summer.

Distro Beer Hub will see Heist Brewery join NoDa neighbors Divine Barrel Brewing Co., Asheville-based brewery DSSOLVR, and Incendiary Brewing out of Winston-Salem come together to create a new concept that keeps people excited about the craft beer world, Hogan said.

Ian Kee, operations manager at Heist and general manager at Akahana Asian Bistro, will add another hat as general manager for Distro Beer Hub. Though Kee is relatively new to the beer industry, he has 35 years of experience in the service industry, which he said he will use to bring back the lost art of hospitality into Distro.

“The biggest issue that we have in the service industry now, everybody is just another number. We’d like to try to grow [Distro] in such a way that we become a family,” he told Queen City Nerve. “The family [that] eats together, drinks together, plays together, stays together. I always believe that, and that’s part of philosophy which we’re trying to bring in.”

Although Heist is spearheading Distro’s operations, no less focus will be given to DSSOLVR, Divine Barrel or Incendiary Brewing, Kee insisted.

“We are not going to lose any of that particular art … because all of us are all trying to stay alive, if you think about it,” he said. “We are all smaller beer companies that would like to show people that this is what the love of the craft is all about. People have forgotten that.

“People go into mom-and-pop stores because they know the mom and pop, the employees, the other customers,” Kee continued. “We create relationships.”

Meet the breweries

Hogan chose the three breweries that will be joining Heist at Distro Beer Hub in part due to the relationships they’ve created throughout the years.

“We’re all good friends,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of collaborations together and respect the product that each produces. Each brewery is unique in their own brand and style that they represent.”

The hub will have five different bars spread across its South End space, each of which will mimic the style and personality you might see in the respective brewery’s taprooms. Each will rotate selections at their 12-tap bars, ranging from IPAs to lagers to pilsner and more.

“Each kind of have their own look and feel like you’d be at the brewery … but then you’d be able to mingle throughout the entire place under one shared roof,” said Lisa Antonacci, Distro Beer Hub’s social media manager.

An additional wine and cocktail bar will also be available for folks not interested in craft beer. Hogan has worked with past and present employees as well as a few third parties to develop the cocktail bar, offering innovative mixtures and fresh mocktails.

Besides Divine Barrel, the two other breweries will be marking their entrance into the Charlotte scene, as Distro will be their first openings here. Hogan wanted to give people a chance to try a new product that they may have never gotten the chance to before.

Originally founded in Asheville and later expanding to Durham, DSSOLVR will bring “the most surreal offerings that highlight the greatest and most exciting parts of both old school and new school styles,” according to the Distro website.

The brewery boasts gluten-free fruited sours, big ol’ stouts and natural wine, utilizing local farmers, artisans and makers of all kinds to expand the tastes and visuals “beyond your average horizons.”

Incendiary Brewing, established in Winston-Salem in 2018, is known for its big barrel-aged beer, IPAs and World Beer Cup-recognized lagers. Incendiary is “Always pushing forward with something new while keeping a few crowd favorites on dependable tap lines,” Distro’s website reads.

Heist Brewery itself made a name for itself as Charlotte’s only craft brewpub when it opened in 2012, pioneering North Carolina’s first hazy IPA choice, CitraQuench’l.

A curated food selection will also be available featuring fresh sushi and Distro Bites.

To emphasize the artistry and local feel of Distro Beer Hub, Hogan has selected a slate of Charlotte-area artists to paint murals inside and outside the building. As with the brewery partners, these relationships have been built over time as the artists have worked with Heist in the past.

“You get to know and respect a lot of artists over the years, and in the same way that Distro is giving each brewery free rein to supply whatever beer they choose, the artists are free to paint whatever they want,” he said.

Read more: Divine Barrel Uplifts Local Arts Scene with Mural Collab

While the main hall is set to open in the coming weeks, Distro’s phase two plans include an event space to be used for pop-up markets, live bands and other private events later down the road, Antonacci said.

She called Distro Beer Hub a symbol of unity amongst the brewing community, she said, offering folks a true taste of North Carolina.

“Every time [breweries] get bigger, everybody goes … for name brands and stuff like that,” Kee said. “But … the craft industry is much more of a passion and [about] relationships and it’s why we go into it … as far as we’re concerned.”

Follow Distro Beer Hub on Instagram for updates on the upcoming opening.