Kraig Torres announced the official opening of Hop City Craft Beer & Wine and Barleygarden Kitchen & Craft Bar in Fayetteville, GA on Friday, July 24. Located in the new mixed-use development, Pinewood Forest, Hop City and Barleygarden will share a two-story 5,500 square-foot space at 240 J Arthur Rank Ave Fayetteville, GA 30214 across from Pinewood Atlanta Studios.

Known as the Southeast’s top retailer of craft beer and natural wines, Hop City opened its first store in 2009 and has since expanded with two locations in Atlanta’s bustling neighborhoods and one location in Birmingham, AL. With each new location, Hop City offers a unique shopping experience with the same dedicated staff that provides hands­-on customer service throughout. Hop City’s Pinewood Forest space will exude a lively, urban atmosphere including glass garage doors surrounding the building for open-air shopping and an in-house bar featuring local, domestic and international draft beer options. In addition, the retail store will offer an expansive selection of craft beers, growlers and small-production wines for customers to enjoy from home.

Along with the award-winning retail store, Barleygarden Kitchen and Craft Bar will be located on the second story of the building with a spacious covered patio and bar in addition to limited indoor seating. The beer garden’s first location and Torres’ first restaurant venture opened in 2017 in Alpharetta’s Avalon development with a focus on building a sense of community through craft beer culture. The restaurant will offer a similar beverage menu to its original location featuring 72 rotating brews from all over the world in addition to handcrafted cocktails and curated wines. Praised for their approachable menu with an emphasis on beer pairings, Barleygarden’s Chef Brian Carson will introduce an expanded menu alongside the opening that will be offered at both beer garden locations.

Chef Carson comes from the kitchen of Hop City’s second sister restaurant, Boxcar, with a respected background working in various esteemed Atlanta restaurants including Gunshow, The Pig & The Pearl and Pinewood Tippling Room. As a food connoisseur with an unrivaled thirst for knowledge, Chef Carson exploits his years of exceptional culinary experience to construct inventive dishes featuring seasonal, farm-fresh options with the highest quality local ingredients. Barleygarden’s new menu will incorporate a variety of elevated bar food classics from the original location in addition to some of Chef Carson’s Boxcar staples along with an array of new creations.

Menu appetizers will include options like Loaded Pork Skins with house-made blue cheese crumble dressing, Sweet and Smokey Eggplant Caponata and Springer Mountain Chicken Wings. Chef Carson’s signature sandwiches will include Boxcar’s famed Vagabond, Barleygarden’s original Butcher’s Bun, a new Flyin’ Bayou Po’ Boy and much more. In addition, the menu will feature a build-your-own burger section with four different patty choices including an all-beef patty featuring house-ground Stone Mountain Cattle, Springer Mountain chicken breast fillet and a house-made vegan beet patty alternative with the option to add on four different topping combos. Main courses will include choices like Fish and Chips, Vegan Meatloaf, North of Ponce Chicken Strips and Korean Fried Chicken along with an assortment of entrée salads and seasonal soups. The menu will also incorporate a kid-friendly section featuring standard classics like grilled cheese, hot dogs and hamburgers.

Hop City and Barleygarden will follow all CDC guidelines while adhering to a strict internal safety protocol for each stage of opening. Daily health inspections for staff members will include temperature checks before entering the building. All employees have been trained on proper safety and sanitation procedures and are required to wear a mask in customer service areas at all times. In addition, all customers are required to wear masks when entering or moving about the building which includes, but is not limited to, visits to the restroom. The restaurant will also provide hand sanitizer stations throughout the guest and work spaces in addition to touchless QR code menus at each table. All tables both inside the building and on the patio will be spaced six feet apart to encourage social distancing and will be cleaned with a ServSafe approved sanitizing spray every 30 minutes and in between each party. Lastly, all groups are limited to no more than 10 people per table and no more than two people per six feet at the bar.

“Our paramount concern is the safety and health of our staff and customers,” says Kraig Torres. “We are taking every possible precaution to assure we are confidently opening our doors to an environment the community feels comfortable to enjoy.”

Hop City Craft Beer & Wine will be open Sunday – Thursday from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. and Friday – Saturday from 11 a.m. – 12 a.m. Barleygarden Kitchen & Craft Bar will initially open for dinner service seven days a week from 3 – 10 p.m. with plans to open for lunch service at the beginning of August. For more information about Barleygarden and other Hop City happenings, please visit their respective websites.