The North end of Boulevard is quickly becoming one of Richmond’s most prized parts of town, and a new business which aims to give consumers access to tons of fresh beer in one convenient location hopes to add to the once-avoided strip.
The North end of Boulevard is quickly becoming one of Richmond’s most prized parts of town, and a new business which aims to give consumers access to tons of fresh beer in one convenient location hopes to add to the once-avoided strip.
Growlers to Go GM Eric Wetzel was excited to describe his new venture as “Virginia’s first growler fill station.”
“Bring your growler in, fill it with fresh craft beer. And drink it in the comfort of your home,” said Wetzel. “We want people to drink craft beer. This is a spot to educate people.”
Wetzel, a Midlothian native, stood in the middle of his small retail space. A massive open refrigerated shelf sits to the left as you walk in, and a wall with 50+ taps sits behind a sleek white bar in front of the customer.
Behind the taps lies a vast walk-in fridge lined with kegs of delicious brews.
The selection of booze is impressive – all types from light pilsners to woody stouts are available fresh from the tap.
“We’re the mutual fund of beers,” jokes Wetzel. “Our wall is highly diversified.”
Like any good RVA beer business, there are plenty of local brews available, with at least one tap line committed to each of the RVA breweries. Wetzel said making sure Richmond’s beers were available was key to their plan.
“They’ve been so generous and welcoming,” said Wetzel about meeting with the local brewers. “We’re excited to be part of the community.”
Only growlers and bottles of beer are available for purchase – they have an off-premises license – but you can sample the beers before you buy.
Now, getting this far has not been easy – Wetzel said the idea first started about two years ago. He’d spent some time in Atlanta where growlers and growler-fill stations are already part of the regular craft beer culture.
Eric Wetzel, Growlers to Go GM
“It’s becoming really popular for people to come in, fill their growler with fresh beer, and bringing it home,” said Wetzel of the Atlanta scene.
“We’re excited to be here,” said Wetzel. “We’re looking forward to being here and providing people with beer.”
Like any Virginia beer business, they still have to sell $1000 worth of food in order to stay in the booze business. You’ll find plenty of local snacks (peanuts, chips, etc) alongside the fancy beer options. “We’re gonna try our best to push the food,” said Wetzel. “We’ll see what happens.”
Keep an eye out for Wetzel and his Growlers to Go – he’s got hopes to expand, and he hopes to take part in a number of street festivals along the Boulevard in the coming months.
Growlers to Go
1017 N Blvd
Richmond, Virginia
(804) 512-2746
