Lake Anne Brew House is getting a bigger space.
The Reston establishment announced on Wednesday (July 9) that, as of July 1, it has officially leased the neighboring storefront at 11426 Washington Plaza West, which has been empty since Chesapeake Chocolates closed its doors at the end of September 2024.
The move will allow Lake Anne Brew House to double the seating capacity for its bar and tap room, while also providing more room for its sister company Nordic-Knot, according to Melissa Romano, who co-owns both businesses.
With the brewery’s 10th anniversary coming up next spring, Romano says the time felt right to pursue an expansion.
“It’s a time in the industry where there are, unfortunately, a lot of closures happening around us, but we have a very strong and supportive customer base,” she told FFXnow. “We hope that, by expanding the seating, we’ll be able to continue to grow our business here and grow our customer base and also support the continued vitality of Lake Anne Plaza.”
Romano, a professional architect, launched Lake Anne Brew House with her husband, co-owner and brewmaster Jason Romano in April 2016. Located at 11424 Washington Plaza West, the roughly 1,000-square-foot space could accommodate 47 seats and six tanks for brewing Jason Romano’s handcrafted beers.
In addition to a rotating selection of ales, lagers, IPAs and other drinks, the microbrewery serves some snack food, including the nationally recognized pretzels made by Nordic-Knot. After initially starting the business in his Reston home, founder Eric Lundberg approached Melissa Romano before Lake Anne Brew House opened and enlisted her as a business partner and reseller.
In 2017, Nordic-Knot established a permanent production center just a couple doors down from Lake Anne Brew House at 11412 Reston Plaza West. Though orders can currently be picked up directly from the bakery, the brew house’s expansion will give customers another option with extended hours.
“While we do sell the pretzels in the tap room, we haven’t been able to really provide any retail pickup or any additional support,” Melissa Romano said. “… But with the new space, we hope to be able to provide some more space for an increased presence by the bakery.”
The larger space will also enable the brewery to offer more drinks, including hard ciders and seltzers, non-alcoholic brews and house wines that they hope to provide by partnering with a local winery, Romano told Northern Virginia Magazine.
To design the new space, Romano has partnered with Matt Stevison, a Lake Anne resident, longtime brew house VIP supporter and senior associate at the locally based firm FGM Architects.
With the design work just getting started, it’ll likely take “several months” for construction to get underway, depending on how quickly permits are processed, Romano says. The renovations aren’t expected to affect the existing, adjacent space, so the brew house can remain open throughout the process.
The new space, which will be connected to the existing brewery, will ultimately be unveiled with a grand opening that could include announcements of new VIP offerings and possibly a Founders Club.
For now, Romano hopes community members will continue to stop by Lake Anne Plaza to enjoy a cold brew and soak in the summer sun.
“This is a busy time of year,” she said. “It’s the best time of year because it’s beautiful weather, and you can sit outside and have a beer while you’re facing the lake, and so, we just encourage everybody to come down and support us through this next step.”
