‘We get a chance to restart.’ How Heist Brewery in NoDa is moving forward after fire

Heist Brewery general manager Spencer Farrell usually spends his Fridays getting ready for the weekend crowd. He arrives in the morning, makes sure the place is clean and checks any invoices.

But Friday was different.

Instead of preparing to see regulars who are there for their post-work beer, he was meeting with a fire marshal, letting in cleaning crews and talking to an insurance company.

The brewery’s NoDa location on North Davidson Street caught fire Tuesday evening. The Charlotte Fire Department responded immediately, Farrell said. And the fire took about 40 minutes to put out.

But a few days later, the business is still trying to restore power and figure out how much the damages will cost.

“It’s that sinking feeling like, wow, that can’t happen to me,” Farrell said. “And it did, so you have to take it on the chin and deal with it.”

An unexpected blaze in the kitchen

Farrell was at Walmart when he received the call around 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. His assistant manager, Bryce Waters, was working when the fire happened.

Waters said the night started out uneventful. Back in the main kitchen, one of the cooks was using the stovetop when a flame “went a little too high.” Waters and the cook got it under control, but then the fire got caught in the ventilation system, he said.

The exact cause and reason why the fire spread is still unclear, but it has been ruled as an accident, Farrell said. He’s still working with the Charlotte Fire Department to assess the damages, and the department was still investigating how it spread.

Fire Marshal Kevin Miller and Capt. Jackie Gilmore with the Charlotte Fire Department did not respond to the Observer’s voicemails and emails requesting information.

Farrell said he’s not sure of the total expenses the fire will cost the brewery. He and his team have been taking inventory of everything they lost, and the main kitchen is unusable.

As of Friday morning, Heist Brewery didn’t have power. Farrell said they had to turn it off on Tuesday to prevent any electrical damages. They’ve lost all of the food stored in their coolers and freezers as a result.

About two dozen customers were in the brewery when the fire happened. Nobody was hurt, which Farrell credited to Waters, the staff and the first responders in making sure everyone got out safely.

“If you see fire where it’s not supposed to, you immediately think, ‘Oh gosh, where’s this going to go? What’s going to happen?’ Waters said. “But as a manager, my first thought is always safety, so I want to make sure everyone gets out.”

Community support

Heist Brewery opened in 2012 right before breweries started to become really popular in Charlotte, Farrell said.

Farrell joined the crew in 2013. He had worked in the restaurant industry for a while and was attracted to the idea of working at a place that made both beer and food. Now, having been there for more than 10 years, Heist and the people who work there are like family to him.

“Once you’re one of us, you’re one of us,” Farrell said. “We’ve always made a point to have that. It sounds cheesy — that family bit — but it still holds true.”

Friday morning, as Farrell was waiting on a fire marshal, a black car pulled up. It was Robert Brendle, who is the taproom manager of Heist Brewery’s second location at 1030 Woodward Ave.

He came by to see if Farrell wanted a hug, Brendle said as he got out of his car.

Brendle began working at the North Davidson Street location as a busboy when he was 18. Now 28, he’s hosted, bartended, given tours and has been a delivery driver. Heist Brewery’s reliability has made him stay there for the past 10 years, he said.

“You enjoy going to work, you enjoy the people you hang out with,” Brendle said. “Everybody’s always there for each other.”

Both Farrell and Brendle have thought a lot about how to take care of the staff who aren’t able to work due to the fire. Some employees were assigned to work at the other location.

But what Farrell wasn’t expecting was the number of messages he would receive in the days after the fire from other people in the industry, asking him if they could help by employing some of his staff.

“We, as service industry people, are in the trenches,” Farrell said. “The fact that all of the other service people that I’ve had relationships with … they’re jumping on and saying, ‘How can we help?’ That’s super awesome.”

‘We will come back from this’

Heist Brewery’s location on North Davidson Street is closed indefinitely, Farrell said. But he is determined to have it up and running again.

He’s taking it one day at a time, he said.

“It’s crushing, but it’s not the end of the world,” Farrell said. “We will come back from this.”

Farrell said they’re in a bit of a “waiting game” right now. His plan for Saturday when he got up for work was more conversations with the restoration crew and with the insurance company.

Despite the damage, he’s trying to view the fire as a blessing.

“This is our opportunity to rebrand and do something maybe different. Maybe we do the same. Who knows?” Farrell said. “But we get a chance to restart.”