Hills Seafood & Brewing Co. closed after two years in Shockoe Slip. (Mike Platania)
The Richmond brewery scene has taken a casualty.
7 Hills Seafood & Brewing Co. closed Monday at 115 S. 15th St. in Shockoe Slip.
The brewpub, which opened in 2015 with the hopes of combining an in-house brewery and full-service restaurant, announced the closure last week on its social media pages.
Owner Michael Abdelmagid could not be reached for comment.
Located near the intersection of Dock and South 15th streets, 7 Hills’ building is owned by Margaret Freund’s Fulton Hill Properties. Jon Ondrak, chief operating officer at Fulton Hill, said the company’s leases with clients are confidential and declined to comment.
The 8,000-square-foot space formerly was occupied by bars Stool Pigeons Coop and Grill and Major Willy’s, which closed in 2010 and 2013, respectively.
7 Hills’ beers often were named for local landmarks and neighborhoods, such as its Great Shiplock IPA, Hell Block and Dead Rock Double IPA.
It’s the only brewery to close in the Richmond area since the region’s beer boom began around 2011. There are now about 30 breweries in the market.
A few blocks northeast from 7 Hills, another brewery opened in recent months. Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery opened a satellite taproom, Lickinghole Goodwater, in November at 1717 E. Franklin St.
More breweries are set to open in the coming months as well.
Hardywood is set to have a soft opening of its $28 million Goochland facility in February, and Canon & Draw Brewing Co. and Tabol Brewing are looking to open this year.
And new owners have found a location for the revived Richbrau, a brewery brand that operated in Shockoe Slip for years before closing in 2010.
Hills Seafood & Brewing Co. closed after two years in Shockoe Slip. (Mike Platania)
The Richmond brewery scene has taken a casualty.
7 Hills Seafood & Brewing Co. closed Monday at 115 S. 15th St. in Shockoe Slip.
The brewpub, which opened in 2015 with the hopes of combining an in-house brewery and full-service restaurant, announced the closure last week on its social media pages.
Owner Michael Abdelmagid could not be reached for comment.
Located near the intersection of Dock and South 15th streets, 7 Hills’ building is owned by Margaret Freund’s Fulton Hill Properties. Jon Ondrak, chief operating officer at Fulton Hill, said the company’s leases with clients are confidential and declined to comment.
The 8,000-square-foot space formerly was occupied by bars Stool Pigeons Coop and Grill and Major Willy’s, which closed in 2010 and 2013, respectively.
7 Hills’ beers often were named for local landmarks and neighborhoods, such as its Great Shiplock IPA, Hell Block and Dead Rock Double IPA.
It’s the only brewery to close in the Richmond area since the region’s beer boom began around 2011. There are now about 30 breweries in the market.
A few blocks northeast from 7 Hills, another brewery opened in recent months. Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery opened a satellite taproom, Lickinghole Goodwater, in November at 1717 E. Franklin St.
More breweries are set to open in the coming months as well.
Hardywood is set to have a soft opening of its $28 million Goochland facility in February, and Canon & Draw Brewing Co. and Tabol Brewing are looking to open this year.
And new owners have found a location for the revived Richbrau, a brewery brand that operated in Shockoe Slip for years before closing in 2010.
Seems to me that location may be part of the problem. I’ve rooted for each business that has opened there to succeed, but the struggle is real. Best of luck to the next effort.
My two cents? The location is good, in my view. Walkable along the canal walk and in Shockoe riverfront area, at end of Virginia Capital Trail. The beer was good. The problem seemed to be the restaurant side and management. Good for a year or two, it veered off into seafood and at times when I stopped by, had a “limited” (I say very limited) menu instead of regular offerings. Not the right way to go when I have many other good restaurant options nearby. It could be a brewery without a restaurant would do well. The square footage is… Read more »
Andrew,
I totally agree. We went there a few months ago and half the items on the website weren’t actually on the menu anymore and that was very disappointing. That location has potential, just have to find the right business there.
Does anyone have news on the Lickinghole Brew Pub on Franklin in the bottom? It has hours listed online but has not been open recently. Their Instagram account has also disappeared.
Didn’t Lickinghole pub just open this fall?
I noticed that as well. I’m guessing they’re abandoning the downtown scene to focus on the farm in Goochland. The craft beer scene is getting to the point of saturation in Richmond right now so focusing on the farming is probably a better business decision.
I disagree about the saturation.
I think if you look at places like Scotts Addition, the proximity of breweries is a big plus, it’s turned the area into a defacto party area for younger people.
I think if i was a brewer, I’d want to be closer to other brewers.
Also, not just any old beer will do, and the 7 Hills never made a beer that stood out.
Website for the Farm talks about Christmas and Thanksgiving, downtown not being open for NYE. This time last year they had calendar up for weekends on the farm with tastings, bands and food trucks. No updates now. Philanthropy talks about outlook for 2017.