A first look at Trophy’s upcoming taproom & restaurant
Raleigh, meet Trophy Five Points. Few F&B announcements have yielded the fanfare of Trophy’s blue Electric Supply Co. building takeover.
A Five Points East icon embedded in Raleigh’s history, Trophy’s foothold on the mammoth ~22K-square-foot iconic now-defunct blue warehouse at once sates Raleigh’s thirst while tapping into the collective cry for outposts that retain her unique Southern charm and herald her into her fortuitous future.
The brewer behemoth’s eighth outpost—first dubbed “Trophy Brewing Outpost” in its fledgling conceptual days—is slated to tap the keg on its highly anticipated dual taproom and restaurant early 2026 after breaking ground as soon as early this year.
Transforming the space, the taproom will be stocked with 10+ taps sporting Trophy’s prized brews and out-of-state collabs, with cocktails and vino to boot, not to mention a full restaurant that promises to live in your mind rent-free long after the last bite. While bevs won’t be brewed on-site, barrel-aging Trophy products in the famed blue building is in the cards.
Ample outdoor seating a la the Trophy way will accommodate hungry Raleighites via the “front porch”—as Trophy co-owner Chris Powers calls the outpost’s huge front patio—in the back greenspace with bonus room to let the kids roam, as well as in a large indoor dining area. Feeding the frenzy will be a menu akin to the Trophy Brewing & Pizza on Morgan—except more extensive. Think pizzas, natch, and other fan faves from the F&B kings.
For those further looking to relish in the vibe, there’s a flexible 9K-square-foot space for events and community-building, says Powers—as is also the Trophy team way via such concepts as Maywood Hall & Garden. (Um, who’s ready to party?!)
“We are excited to become a part of the Five Points neighborhood, and to be making such an iconic building our home,” muses Powers. “Five Points presents such a great opportunity to be a part of a vibrant neighborhood.” And Raleigh is clearly here for it. @trophyfivepoints
The 7,000-plus-square-foot distillery, bar and restaurant is now serving Med-inspired bites and bevs.
If you thought the Seaboard Station’s redevelopment was already transformative for the city, just wait. Enter Boatman Spirits Co., a 7,850-square-foot combined craft distillery, taproom, bar and restaurant. Now open on the ground floor of The Miles apartment building, Boatman is led by a stacked team of locals: owner/CEO George Ghneim and managing partners Geremy Prichard, Zack Thomas and Aaron Lambert.
Merging myriad minds, musings and masteries, Boatman Spirits Co. was born from a conversation Ghneim, an esteemed local veterinarian formerly of DTR bar/restaurant Riviera, struck up with Prichard, who was then working at a bar adjacent to one of his offices. Both were interested in some form of a distillery concept producing beer, wine and spirits—and Prichard came equipped with a NC State degree in bioprocessing science with experience winemaking in California to boot.
Simultaneously, Lambert had just departed his post as GM at Whiskey Kitchen with a detailed distillery/bar business proposal up his sleeve and plans in the works for a new bar with Thomas—well-known for running bar programs at Crawford and Son, Foundation and Killjoy.
Za’atar Wings | Photo by Forrest MasonObsequy | Photo by Forrest Mason
“As we spoke more, we realized it’d be such amazing synergy to do this altogether,” reflects Ghneim. “It just really clicked, and we realized very quickly these were the right pieces to start with.” And the rest, as they say, is history.
And history is precisely what’s at the forefront of Boatman, boasting an MO of “invoking journeys beyond, departures and escapes from the everyday,” says Lambert. “We just wanted people to get away—to depart from their lives, depart from just a normal bar.” Hence the name, a nod to many cultures’ and religions’ belief of paying a boatman to ferry you across a body of water to the afterlife once you die—not to mention the branding, devised by local designer Paul Tuorto—all inspired by a range of myths, rites, journeys, places, relics and practices.
In the same vein, the space itself appears “super-old but brand-new,” notes Lambert, who likens the vibe to an Indiana Jones discovery of some lost temple that’s “extremely pristine and looks like it was built yesterday, but at the same time, it’s always been there.”
Designed in partnership with Mauer Architecture and Bryan Costello (who also lent his designer touch to such local spots as Heights House and Madre), the interior boasts a “grandiose cathedral aspect” and catacombs-like feel consisting of stone and metal surfaces, dark ceilings and floors, ample plants, high windows offering lots of natural light, a water feature, and even “a bar that appears to have been handhewn out of the living rock,” maintains Lambert.
Photo by Forrest Mason
Varied takes on classic spirits will run the gamut from vodka, gin and brandy to eventually whiskey, made with old traditions from different cultures and local ingredients when possible. Starring in cocktails created by Thomas, those liquors will be complemented by Mediterranean street food as an ode to Ghneim’s Palestine heritage.
Ultimately, Boatman taps into a, well, untapped market locally. “We’ve kind of been disillusioned with our Raleigh scene,” says Lambert. … “This is going to be a place that’s uncanny and otherworldly—it’s not going to feel like somewhere else. It’s going to feel like an escape and departure from the norm.” So, somewhere to “leave it all behind,” indeed. @boatmanspiritsco
“When we walked through the door, we knew immediately we had to do this,” says Trophy co-owner Chris Powers. “We’re excited to join our good friends Cheetie and Paul in this great neighborhood—and we love the trees and the walkability. … We can’t wait to get started.”
As of right now, the Trophy team plans to turn the 23,000-square-foot building (also boasting 22-foot ceilings and a basement) into a brewery and full restaurant—with the taproom portion opening first and the restaurant following about six months later. The brewery will be similar to Trophy Maywood in size, so around eight to 10 taps, Powers shares. Adding even more excitement, the menu will be much the same as Trophy Brewing & Pizza—so, pizza, natch; salads; and the like.
“With that space, it makes sense to brew there,” he adds. “And the basement could be a great rickhouse for Young Hearts. There’s so many possibilities.”
The new location announcement comes two years after the Trophy team opened Young Hearts Distilling—Downtown Raleigh’s first-ever distillery—which took over the former Busy Bee Cafe spot, also opened by Powers and fellow Trophy co-owners David Meeker and Woody Lockwood.
These local brick-and-mortar establishments are taking to the streets to deliver their delish eats and drinks on the go.
Samantha Bechtold
Trophy Trailer
If beer on the go is your thing, enter Trophy Brewing Co.’s brand-new mobile bar and taproom (!). Designed with the intention of serving beer more easily at events (you may have seen it at the likes of Brewgaloo, Gettin’ Piggy With It and Raleigh Fashion Fest), the trailer feats five drafts of Trophy beer, as well as wine and draft cocktails made with Young Hearts Distilling liquor, natch. When it’s not rolling around town, you can find it parked at Trophy Maywood serving up bevs to be enjoyed outside on-property. “We always want people to come visit us at the brewery, but we’ll also put out the beacon and have people try our beer and spirits out in the wild,” says Trophy co-owner Chris Powers. Cheers to that! @trophymaywood
Wandering Wolf Food Truck
Schnitzel on the road? Say less. Capital Club 16 is launching a new food truck this month—painted by local treasure/sign painter extraordinaire Joe Giampino of Spclsigns—with beer garden-style fare parallel with its brick-and-mortar menu. Spot it at the likes of Trophy Brewing, Clouds Brewing, R&D Brewing and more ~three days a week to start. “The food truck is a natural step for us to take our show on the road year-round,” says chef/owner Jake Wolf. “We also hope to stir up some synergy with the Wandering Wolf and our restaurant in Downtown.” Prost!@capital_club_16
Don’t expect to find any flagship beers on the tap list at Edit Beer Co., a new brewery and taproom opening in Northeast Raleigh (next to Scooter’s Grill & Bar) by the end of the year. As the name would suggest, the team plans to regularly “edit” and improve upon their brews to keep patrons hoppy while also giving them the freedomnto experiment.
Co-owner Brian Johnson—who owns the brewery and taproom with his wife, Angela—also hopes Edit Beer Co. will enhance the local beer scene as a whole. “Edit is a means to make something better,” he says. “We’ve seen North Carolina continue to grow as a very well-respected craft beer state people are excited about, and we’re happy to keep making NC a better craft beer destination.”
Of course, you’ll still be able to sip on core “styles” of beer, Johnson maintains. He and head brewer Jack DeHarpport, who previously headed brewing operations at R&D Brewing, plan to always have some hoppy options available, in addition to light beer ops and sours—plus more obscure brews.
“Ultimately, we want to have something for everybody,” says DeHarpport. “We aren’t only going to be making esoteric beers that punch you in the face with flavor. We also want ones that are gonna be really drinkable, sessionable and everything in between.”
When Edit Beer Co. opens in December, expect pours of the brewery’s own beers, as well as guest brews—though the pair hopes to have all 20 taps filled with Edit beers by spring, when they’ll host a grand opening party for the public after they “use the first few months to get our feet planted,” says Johnson. They also plan to eventually have craftily designed cans—courtesy of Atlas Branding & Design out of Asheville—in local bottle shops.
In the meantime, the light-filled taproom—complete with high ceilings, large live-edge wood tables, a mezzanine and outdoor seating—makes for a pretty primo spot to tantalize your palate with unique and unexpected brews. Hop to it! @editbeer
