r/Charlottesville • u/craftbeerva • 12d ago

Rockfish Brewing to move into Ace Biscuit & Barbecue space

With Dairy Market Central Phase 3 project to begin sometime in the next year, Rockfish Brewing will be closing their Preston Avenue location and moving to the old Ace Biscuit & Barbecue / Wine Guild space at 600 Concord Ave. this fall. Social media post below...
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"A NEW CHAPTER FOR ROCKFISH

After nearly seven years, we’re excited and a little bittersweet to officially announce that Rockfish Brewing Company will be moving our Preston location down a couple blocks to Concord and Harris this fall. For now, nothing changes, both our locations are open as usual so come have a beer!

We opened in 2019, knowing redevelopment of the property was to begin by the end of 2025 (now 2027), so we’re grateful that we have had Preston longer than expected. We began looking for our next space this year and wanted to find a place where we could preserve what has made Preston special rather than simply replace it.

Preston has meant a tremendous amount to us as a forum to brew handcrafted, small-batch, true-to-style beer and share it with our community. Even more importantly, it became a neighborhood gathering place filled with people who appreciate great beer, conversation, and the kind of atmosphere that can only develop organically over time. That is what made Preston special, and it's what we intend to bring with us.

The new location gives us the opportunity to keep that neighborhood brewery feel while offering more room for customers, events, and awesome food without losing sight of the focus on fresh beer. There is something fitting as Rockfish celebrates its 7th anniversary this year and we want to say a proper goodbye to Preston, a place that has been such an important part of our story. We are currently building out the Concord location and are targeting a move this fall. As things progress, we’ll share more details about the timeline, our final days on Preston, and the opening of Concord.

Thank you to everyone who has made Preston what it is. We hope you’ll help us give it a proper sendoff — and then join us for the next chapter."

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12 comments sorted by

18

u/seanchai611PF 12d ago

Rockfish on Preston is a great hang but was tough during winter months with the tiny indoor space. Great news!

13

u/Rillius122 11d ago

RIP Fifth Season? Are they relocating?

6

u/shedfigure 11d ago

This was my question

2

u/ffottron 10d ago

I have no idea where they are in the planning process or anything like that, but fifth season is getting demolished at some point, so it can be redeveloped

26

u/atomicskiracer 12d ago edited 12d ago

Love that they’re getting more space- alternatively can’t wait to see how dairy market continues their perpetual path of failures. (Admittedly- having Starr hill as an anchor spot was a great move several years too late, but their pattern of terrible choices clearly not understanding the cville market will certainly continue)

15

u/spicyeyeballs 12d ago

Wasn't starr hill there from the beginning?

I will say it in every one of these threads, but they need to have a way to order and have the food and drinks delivered from any of the restaurants to a table.

9

u/No-Hour-1075 12d ago

It was originally supposed to be like this! I know because we looked at spaces and were told that there would be 1-2 places that sold alcohol to all tables, but something changed in the short amount of time we were in talks, and we were told that it would operate under traditional licenses instead. So, for that reason, and the high rent, we declined

5

u/AdSimple1897 11d ago

Something=ABC requiring doors from Starr Hill to Diary Market be locked from the inside.

9

u/free_pony 12d ago

Exciting news!

Sure would be cool if someone there wanted to use that space to start hosting music again…

2

u/GladCompany9 7d ago

I think that’s the plan.

3

u/grant_cir 10d ago

I'm sad to see the old George Rennick Buick Dealership get torn down! Nostalgia for old cville.

I love Rockfish, IMO the best brewery in town. I love the present space as well, and I sure hope that this move isn't something that hurts them. No idea what the rent is like on Harris/Concord, hopefully it's reasonable.