Amber Ox owners planning Merchants Square beer hall
Ambitious venue to contain games, food and music space
The owners of the Amber Ox Public House brewpub are planning next summer to open a nearby social venue and brewery called Precarious Beer Hall in Colonial Williamsburg’s Merchants Square.
“It’ll be different from anything you’ve seen,” said co-owner Andrew Voss. “Our goal is to create a space and environment people are excited about.”
Plans call for the hall to feature a street-style taco eatery along with a craft beer tasting room, an arcade with vintage games like pinball, live music and outdoor seating, Voss said. The idea is to create a casual home base for folks to drink beer, play games and have fun, he said.
The venue finalized a lease for the 9,700-square-foot space formerly occupied by Seasons Restaurant within the Henry Street Shops at the corner of South Henry and Francis streets, according to Cushman and Wakefield-Thalhimer, the firm leasing Merchants Square. The beer hall adds another late-night option because it wants to stay open until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Voss, along with co-owner Chris Cook, opened Amber Ox Public House with an on-site brewery called Precarious Beer Project at 521 Prince George St. in December 2017.
While Precarious Beer Project will expand to a visible production space at the beer hall, the brewery will continue to do experimental, small batch brewing at Amber Ox, Voss said. The larger space also allows the brewery to start a barrel aging and souring program.
The business plans to invest more than $2.5 million and create more than 60 jobs with the beer hall project, Voss said. Twenty vintage games would be featured in the arcade.
In August, Williamsburg City Council approved a grant up to $220,000 — through returning a portion of the tax revenue generated by Precarious every quarter over five years — to support the project, according to The Virginia Gazette. The business estimates it will generate more than $300,000 in meals and sales tax revenue annually for the city.
The Planning Commission is holding public hearings on Precarious Beer’s requests to amend the zoning ordinance to allow the arcade and for a special use permit on Wednesday.
Amber Ox gained an immediate following after opening last year and Colonial Williamsburg is excited to become part of that enthusiasm next year, said Jeff Duncan, vice president of real estate for Colonial Williamsburg.
The addition of Precarious Beer Hall, along with the summer concert series on the lawn of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg and the opening of Mellow Mushroom next month, builds upon efforts to increase vibrancy in downtown Williamsburg, the Henry Street Shops and the north side of Merchants Square, Duncan said.