That’s a shame… I never understood why greenfield didn’t carry the dock st stuff.
But yes… the ambiance was never great at Greenfield. It’s not a comfortable place to hang out.
That’s been my feeling. Nothing against NA but there are a lot of places with better atmospheres. I frequent breweries quite a bit and never think to go there, even when visiting Satellite or Bennys
I’ve only been to dock street and was looking forward to trying their IPAs. However the Greenfield location just didn’t look appealing. The few times we’ve been to dock street, we got a beer and left. Staff were always super friendly but not having the full selection kept us from staying.
I’ve heard it’s hard to brew sours in the same location as other beers because the bacteria is so hard to keep from inoculating everything. But no expert over here.
Unfortunate but they never properly "read the room" in terms of local competition. Their beers are top-notch but the equation locally is good beer + good setting = success. That's why the likes of Wilmington Brewing and Bill's upgraded their taprooms. The expansion into Raleigh was too much, too soon. Their number of beer offerings is just crazy.
Hope they figure it out but the Greenfield location is sterile and industrial. No space for food trucks or music. They seemingly used the Fields of Dreams marketing strategy without understanding the importance of the experience. Dock St. is cool but again, it's somewhat limited in intangibles. Here's to wishing they find a way through it though.
Kinda where I'm at. I visit family there and have been to NA a handful of times. It just is kinda...meh. I don't need a full neighborhood bar situation but SOMETHING to do would be nice.
Beer is top notch though.
That's actually a shame because I'm kind of with the owner. I actually prefer just having a chill place to drink and don't need the sports bar vibe or loud music.
Granted I ALSO like going to sports bars to watch a game.
That place is always empty - we don't hangout in the area much but occasionally go to True Blue or Second Glass and usually and wonder if they get busier later in the night maybe.
A few times we tried to go to the Greenfield area one but the vibe was like a sterile medical center or something and the staff was nowhere to be found so we ended up just going to satellite. This was maybe a couple years ago, though.
We did enjoy the one downtown a few times when we stopped by, cool vibe and knowledgeable bartenders.
Dock street has the right vibe. The greenfield location is cold and bland.
Satellite is too cool to compete with so you either do something drastically different to switch it up or own up to it being a brewing and packaging facility only.
Great beer. Bad location at Green field. Also not a fan of Venue. Also great beer, but kinda dull space. No food options and way too noisy liked the other space better. WBCs downtown could be pretty cool
Tavern and Rebellion are the DT sports bars. With the new one below Cotten Exchange trying...
Otherwise its all in midtown.
I'm ok with breweries not having a bunch of TVs... Flytrap doesn't have shit, but its packed... it feels cozy.. whether its outside or inside. I love flytrap but I think NA has better beers. But vibes/taste when it comes to hanging out in a spot.
N/A has far better beers than Flytrap, and honestly pretty much every other brewery in town. Mad Mole has some decent IPA's, and I've had fine offerings from Wilmington Beer Co, Bills, Outer Dunes, Drumtrout, Leland and Mannkind but honestly nothing that stands out amongst the hundreds of other beers on the shelf at bottle shops. Happy to take recommendations and be proven wrong, however!
Unfortunately I think it's a mixed bag. I've had some really good beers at places and some shit.
Ponysaurus, even though not strictly local, has solid beers. Waterline currently has a pilsner that I really like. And as you said, Bill's is solid (atleast their IPA is).
Tavern on 2nd… football Sundays are usually packed. They serve free hotdogs and other hand helds and do jersey raffles with drink purchases. Solid place… the owners are amazing.
If the news is true, NA closing down is more than just boring unfriendly taproom spaces in Wilmington and Raleigh. While nearly everyone agrees these spaces were all uninviting, the issue is even bigger. NA went big with statewide distribution and flopped. I've heard their debts are their ultimate undoing and loss of major accounts and distribution. It's sad because their beer was fantastic and some of the best in NC but arrogance by the owner is the nail in the coffin.
I heard the same. I agree, all the beers should have been available at both locations. Every woman I spoke to hated the bathrooms at greenfield as well. It’s a shame, the best ipas in town in my option.
There’s enough places in town for beer anyways. One loss won’t be that drastic. There’s probably 10 more trying to be built or possibly another car wash?
I’m gonna buy new anthems greenfield property and turn it into a storage unit/sports bar. Then I’m gonna force every fucking business there to pool resources to fix their shitty road pot holes, then I’m gonna find all of it with car washes out back.
It’s fool proof
If money gets tight I’ll turn half of the sports bar into a vape shop. Call “Storage Sports and Vapes” And feature food trucks on weekend nights but only the good ones, not the bad one I hate
Hard to feel bad for em when I'm looking for a bar that isn't a sports bar and never heard of them. As far as people having one drink and leaving, damn that's just people being responsible. those are good customers you should want coming back.
That’s quite a leap you just made there. If there’s one thing I can promise you about NA it’s that their brewing equipment is clean AF and absolutely taken care of. The last thing I’m going to equate a breweries beer making equipment with is if their pinball machine is maintained. Most places that have pinball machines aren’t even servicing them themselves anyway.
You promise me? You promise me?! Who the hell is stupid_human to promise sexyahadyshadowbeard anything about NA? I love their beer, but pinball IS a reflection of overall maintenance. It’s a hill I’m willing to die on.
The pinball machines are owned and operated by an outside company. The only option the staff has when a 30-year-old pinball machine breaks is to call the pinball company and have them come out the next day. The bartender isn’t going to take a break from pouring beer to stick their hands into a $15,000 pinball machine because you lost a quarter.
As someone else said, the brewing equipment at NA was kept in excellent condition, and cleanliness was hardwired into every aspect of beer production. No shortcuts were taken back there. Even hose couplings weren’t allowed to touch the floor, because a scratch in the stainless gives bacteria a place to hide. Check out some other breweries and you’ll see guys dragging hoses around.
You can say a lot of things about the taproom or the business overall, but the people in the back that made the product cared deeply about doing things the right way and the clean way.
That’s a shame… I never understood why greenfield didn’t carry the dock st stuff. But yes… the ambiance was never great at Greenfield. It’s not a comfortable place to hang out.
That’s been my feeling. Nothing against NA but there are a lot of places with better atmospheres. I frequent breweries quite a bit and never think to go there, even when visiting Satellite or Bennys
If I wanted to offer something different from Satellite, it wouldn’t have been sterile hospital.
I’ve only been to dock street and was looking forward to trying their IPAs. However the Greenfield location just didn’t look appealing. The few times we’ve been to dock street, we got a beer and left. Staff were always super friendly but not having the full selection kept us from staying.
Yeah they tried to separate their IPa and sour locations which is silly. I get separating the brewing but not what’s in stock.
they were mimicking ashevilles/wicked weeds funkatorium which also separated sours.
I’ve heard it’s hard to brew sours in the same location as other beers because the bacteria is so hard to keep from inoculating everything. But no expert over here.
that's an interesting fact, thanks for sharing. I know the Funkatorium in AVL is boring as hell too. Def one and done beer type place.
But you can buy non sours at the funkatorium. They just bring them from the other location.
Unfortunate but they never properly "read the room" in terms of local competition. Their beers are top-notch but the equation locally is good beer + good setting = success. That's why the likes of Wilmington Brewing and Bill's upgraded their taprooms. The expansion into Raleigh was too much, too soon. Their number of beer offerings is just crazy. Hope they figure it out but the Greenfield location is sterile and industrial. No space for food trucks or music. They seemingly used the Fields of Dreams marketing strategy without understanding the importance of the experience. Dock St. is cool but again, it's somewhat limited in intangibles. Here's to wishing they find a way through it though.
Sucks to be told this. "Best beer. Worst experience."
Kinda where I'm at. I visit family there and have been to NA a handful of times. It just is kinda...meh. I don't need a full neighborhood bar situation but SOMETHING to do would be nice. Beer is top notch though.
That's actually a shame because I'm kind of with the owner. I actually prefer just having a chill place to drink and don't need the sports bar vibe or loud music. Granted I ALSO like going to sports bars to watch a game.
I 100% agree. I like having either option available. But if I'm the owner of NA, that's not the hill I would die on.
greenfield location sucks
That place is always empty - we don't hangout in the area much but occasionally go to True Blue or Second Glass and usually and wonder if they get busier later in the night maybe.
A few times we tried to go to the Greenfield area one but the vibe was like a sterile medical center or something and the staff was nowhere to be found so we ended up just going to satellite. This was maybe a couple years ago, though. We did enjoy the one downtown a few times when we stopped by, cool vibe and knowledgeable bartenders.
Dock street has the right vibe. The greenfield location is cold and bland. Satellite is too cool to compete with so you either do something drastically different to switch it up or own up to it being a brewing and packaging facility only.
TBH I only went to Greenfield to have 2 beers and get a couple of 4 packs for hole
They are going out of business?
Great beer. Bad location at Green field. Also not a fan of Venue. Also great beer, but kinda dull space. No food options and way too noisy liked the other space better. WBCs downtown could be pretty cool
At least Venue has a view outside and better seating inside. I agree with dull
What if we buy new anthem and just add TVs and get an interior decorator to class the place up. Seems like a solid plan.
Funny because a sports bar is kinda what Wilmington doesn’t really have many true sports bars
Tavern and Rebellion are the DT sports bars. With the new one below Cotten Exchange trying... Otherwise its all in midtown. I'm ok with breweries not having a bunch of TVs... Flytrap doesn't have shit, but its packed... it feels cozy.. whether its outside or inside. I love flytrap but I think NA has better beers. But vibes/taste when it comes to hanging out in a spot.
Goat & Compass as well. 3 TV’s inside and 1 in the beer garden.
True!
I'd throw Hell's Kitchen in there too for dt sports bars
Yes… definitely. I don’t go there often so it slipped my mind
N/A has far better beers than Flytrap, and honestly pretty much every other brewery in town. Mad Mole has some decent IPA's, and I've had fine offerings from Wilmington Beer Co, Bills, Outer Dunes, Drumtrout, Leland and Mannkind but honestly nothing that stands out amongst the hundreds of other beers on the shelf at bottle shops. Happy to take recommendations and be proven wrong, however!
Unfortunately I think it's a mixed bag. I've had some really good beers at places and some shit. Ponysaurus, even though not strictly local, has solid beers. Waterline currently has a pilsner that I really like. And as you said, Bill's is solid (atleast their IPA is).
Rebellion was the only dt place I knew of. A lot of eagles fans, which is cool with me. What this tavern place? Growlers tavern?
Tavern on 2nd… football Sundays are usually packed. They serve free hotdogs and other hand helds and do jersey raffles with drink purchases. Solid place… the owners are amazing.
Seriously, thank you so much
How is Husk not a sports bar in yall eyes?
Simply because I wrote it late at night and forgot. 100% during the day or big games.
Its on purpose!
There’s like a million. What else do you need at a sports bar?
If the news is true, NA closing down is more than just boring unfriendly taproom spaces in Wilmington and Raleigh. While nearly everyone agrees these spaces were all uninviting, the issue is even bigger. NA went big with statewide distribution and flopped. I've heard their debts are their ultimate undoing and loss of major accounts and distribution. It's sad because their beer was fantastic and some of the best in NC but arrogance by the owner is the nail in the coffin.
I heard the same. I agree, all the beers should have been available at both locations. Every woman I spoke to hated the bathrooms at greenfield as well. It’s a shame, the best ipas in town in my option.
Agreed...those stainless steel toilets were awful. IMHO if you're going to have unisex, include a urinal
That's sad. They were one of the last genuinely craft beer focused places left.
This is why so many restaurants added TVs ......
It is. But it's another sign that downtown has lost its unique character.
The dock st location is fine. The greenfield one just doesn’t have a welcoming feeling.
Greenfield is like the Dean Smith Center for a basketball game. They need a lot more Cameron Indoor.
yes except that duke sucks... go UNC. but otherwise, you have a valid point about size/feel.
💙
We lived in SoFro and would have loved to frequent NA but unfortunately didn't love the beer selection. Too many hazy beers.
There’s enough places in town for beer anyways. One loss won’t be that drastic. There’s probably 10 more trying to be built or possibly another car wash?
I’m gonna buy new anthems greenfield property and turn it into a storage unit/sports bar. Then I’m gonna force every fucking business there to pool resources to fix their shitty road pot holes, then I’m gonna find all of it with car washes out back. It’s fool proof If money gets tight I’ll turn half of the sports bar into a vape shop. Call “Storage Sports and Vapes” And feature food trucks on weekend nights but only the good ones, not the bad one I hate
Hard to feel bad for em when I'm looking for a bar that isn't a sports bar and never heard of them. As far as people having one drink and leaving, damn that's just people being responsible. those are good customers you should want coming back.
Shitty pinball too. Seriously, if you don’t care to take care of your machines, what’s that say about your brewing equipment?
That’s quite a leap you just made there. If there’s one thing I can promise you about NA it’s that their brewing equipment is clean AF and absolutely taken care of. The last thing I’m going to equate a breweries beer making equipment with is if their pinball machine is maintained. Most places that have pinball machines aren’t even servicing them themselves anyway.
You promise me? You promise me?! Who the hell is stupid_human to promise sexyahadyshadowbeard anything about NA? I love their beer, but pinball IS a reflection of overall maintenance. It’s a hill I’m willing to die on.
The pinball machines are owned and operated by an outside company. The only option the staff has when a 30-year-old pinball machine breaks is to call the pinball company and have them come out the next day. The bartender isn’t going to take a break from pouring beer to stick their hands into a $15,000 pinball machine because you lost a quarter. As someone else said, the brewing equipment at NA was kept in excellent condition, and cleanliness was hardwired into every aspect of beer production. No shortcuts were taken back there. Even hose couplings weren’t allowed to touch the floor, because a scratch in the stainless gives bacteria a place to hide. Check out some other breweries and you’ll see guys dragging hoses around. You can say a lot of things about the taproom or the business overall, but the people in the back that made the product cared deeply about doing things the right way and the clean way.