A top Raleigh brewery is building a new giant taproom. Here’s where to find it.
A decade in, one of Raleigh’s most popular and influential breweries is celebrating its latest birthday with a new taproom.
Trophy Brewing will open its third Raleigh taproom in the Old Five Points neighborhood. The new beer hall will open next door to the soon-to-open restaurant Ajja from Cheetie Kumar.
The new taproom will join the original Trophy Pizza on Morgan Street and the production brewery and taproom on Maywood. Trophy is also behind the popular bottle shop and beer cafe State of Beer and Young Hearts Distilling.
Trophy is owned by David Meeker, Chris Powers, Woody Lockwood and Les Stewart. The brewery first opened in 2013 and is best know for making one of the Triangle’s signature beers, the session IPA Trophy Wife.
“We’ve always loved the Five Points neighborhood, there are so many people out, it’s so walkable, it’s kind of a little brewery district,” Powers said.
The new Trophy spot takes over the former Electric Supply Company building at 205 Bickett Blvd. in Raleigh. Trophy bought the building and property in May for $4 million.
At 23,000 square feet with 22 foot tall ceilings it will be the largest Trophy space by far, dwarfing the current main brewing facility on Maywood Avenue at 16,000 square feet.
Currently Trophy is working on the design and features of the new space, which Powers imagines will take about six months, followed by construction. You won’t be toasting a beer in the new taproom until 2024.
In addition to the taproom, Trophy plans to build a restaurant as well, though the concept is still up in the air.
“Our heart is in pizza, but we’ll see,” Powers said.
Large outdoor patio space
Given the size of the space, Powers expect Trophy will add some production brewing to the site. There’s also a basement likely destined for barrel aging. The outdoor patio will be large and fully covered, Powers said, and offer more patio room than even the expanded Morgan Street pizzeria.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever opened a place and didn’t have weird crazy constraints,” Powers said.
Situated next to the train tracks and sitting on a hill, the new Trophy might become a destination for skyline seekers.
“It’s one of the best views of Downtown Raleigh,” Powers said. “It curves down to Roanoke Park. This used to be the sleepy side of Raleigh, but it’s cool to see how the city has changed.”
Trophy marked its 10th anniversary earlier this year and Powers said it’s been a surprising run for one of the Triangle’s most popular breweries.
“We started in a bail bondsman’s closet,” Powers said. “When we first opened (on Morgan Street) we thought, ‘If we don’t sell a ton of our beer, maybe we can sell it to our friends who own bars.’ Then we quickly realized people love our beer and it was hard to keep up with demand.”
Trophy is best known for crisp and hoppy lagers and some hazy IPAs and has evolved as beer tastes have shifted to more sessionable, lighter brews.
“We’ll continue making the beer we’re excited about drinking,” Powers said.
This story was originally published June 14, 2023 at 2:26 PM with the headline "A top Raleigh brewery is building a new giant taproom. Here’s where to find it.."
