Stone Brewing To Open Up In Roanoke?
By now, you may have heard that the nationally known craft brewery Stone Brewing, based in Escondido California, is searching for a spot to locate a brewery on the east coast. More notably for those of us in Soutwestern Virginia, and more specifically the Roanoke area, you may have also heard that the Star City seems to be getting some mention in rumors for that possible location.
Needless to say, it’s all too easy to get excited over the prospect of a major craft brewing company, much less one of Stone Brewing’s stature, opening up here in Roanoke. The idea is certainly not baseless – a Facebook group promoting such a development in Roanoke was started a mere 21 hours ago and has already reached above 500 followers, but more importantly, a post from that seems to have come from the group’s administrators mentioned just three hours ago that they believe Roanoke has responded to a request for information from the brewery, which, if true, would seem to imply a formal curiosity in the city.
Of course, there are at least a few other east coast locations that also have begun generating excitement over the possibility of Stone opening up within their city limits. Fans of the brewery in Charlotte, NC, have also created a Facebook group to show their enthusiasm for bringing Stone there, and there has also been plenty of relevant twitter activity from craft beer fans in and around Blount County, Tennessee over the last few days.
Could it be possible that Stone would open up here, or nearby Roanoke? If you are a craft beer fan and live in or around the Star City, there certainly seems to be enough activity so far to believe Roanoke just might indeed be throwing their hat into the ring. Perhaps Blue 5’s and Jack Brown’s participation in Stone’s Most Bitter Bar competition last year helped put the city on the radar. At the very least, considering Roanoke’s number of restaurants and pubs which prominently feature craft beer, its yearly craft festival Microfestivus and other events, and the number of local and regional breweries which have opened up over the last few years, I would think our resume is strong for such a possibility.
As the Facebook group puts it, I personally believe that Roanoke is indeed worthy of Stone opening up here in the Roanoke Valley. How can you help? Visit the Facebook group, and give it a “Like” to show support, and keep up with the news and posts on the group for the latest. Share the group with friends.
Let’s get on board with this, Roanoke craft curious. Give them a hearty Cheers, and show some Roanoke, Virginia love. It’s time to truly show off the craft beer enthusiasm that’s been building for some time now. Let Stone know that you’d love to welcome them to our craft beer loving city of Roanoke.
The Beer Road 