‘The art of making beer’: York County’s newest brewery is succeeding -- in Tega Cay
A group of Tega Cay buddies took a chance on a shared passion. Then COVID-19 came, and they had the choice to give up or double down.
Their city, plus beer enthusiasts from afar, would let the Model A Brewing Company owners know if they’d made the right call.
”The feedback has been extremely humbling to all of us,” said president Jeremy DeWitt.
DeWitt said sales were up 30-40% against projections in the early weeks after Model A opened in December. It was a welcomed start for the brewery that signed paperwork on new space in February and broke ground in March, right as the pandemic grew and, for a time, shut down restaurants, bars and other businesses.
It likely shut down or delayed countless plans for business openings, DeWitt said, but the Tega Cay friends pooled their resources to keep Model A on track.
”There wasn’t anything that was going to stop us,” he said.
DeWitt attributes the early and, he hopes, continued success of Model A to something that long frustrated his team. Tega Cay didn’t have anything like Model A.
“There’s a lot in Charlotte,” DeWitt said of the local brewery scene. “There’s a lot in Rock Hill, but there’s not a lot here. And this is a booming area.”
A decade ago there were only a handful of small breweries in South Carolina. The nonprofit Brewers Association lists 88 in-state craft breweries as of 2019. Visit York County has the YoCo Brew Trail to highlight area offerings.
There’s Amor Artis Brewing in Fort Mill. Rock Hill has Dust Off Brewing Company, Rock Hill Brewing Company and Slow Play Brewing. Windy Hill in York brews cider.
Breweries have become so popular that Lake Wylie Brewing Company in Fort Mill opened a second site in Rock Hill, and Legal Remedy Brewing opened a second site cantina (both in Rock Hill).
Visit York County data shows there were more than 600 check-ins on its Brew Trail from January to November 2020. About 17% came from outside the area, up 6% from 2019. There’s reason to believe without the pandemic, those check-ins may have doubled.
“Our breweries have worked to not only create unique beverages for locals but immerse themselves in the culture of our communities,” said Billy Dunlap, Visit York County president and CEO. “We are excited to see more breweries opening in the coming year, which enhances our growing economy in York County and offers more visitors a taste of what York County is all about.”
Brewmaster Brad O’Connor spent several years creating new beverages. He shared them with friends and fellow Model A co-founders DeWitt, Brian Foushee, Tony LaMonica and Dirk Tanis.
“Basically we’re just a few friends from Tega Cay,” DeWitt said. “We’ve been buddies for a while. We’ve been drinking his beer for a long time, and we kept saying let’s do something.”
That something turned into 5,900 square feet at 1175 Stonecrest Boulevard. Two patios with rollup doors add almost 2,000 more square feet. There are 18-foot ceilings and a 52-foot bar. Model A has a combined capacity for almost 250 people. Model A has new brewery equipment, too.
“It puts us on the same playing field as some of the bigger breweries,” DeWitt said. “We said if we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it right.”
Model A has a food menu to complement the drinks.
“We’re looking to put about 12 beers on tap,” DeWitt said. “We also have tacos and handhelds and shareables, things like that. We have a full kitchen, so we have the ability to do whatever we want.”
A self-described bourbon fanatic, DeWitt said there are plenty of options including hickory smoked drinks if customers want.
”We also carry a lot of high-end bourbons that people can’t get their hands on,” he said.
There were COVID considerations in planning Model A, beyond just when restaurants and bars could open. From the way customers can order at tables to the extensive patio seating, to an understanding of what customers want on what may be a rare night out.
“It was about being able to deliver a great product out the gate,” DeWitt said. “Ultimately we focused on the art of making beer.”
Model A opens daily at 11 a.m. Already there have been craft beer hobbyists from both the Rock Hill and Charlotte directions. DeWitt hopes that trend continues. Yet the focus remains where it began, on a great glass of beer and the people closest by to enjoy it.
“We built it for Tega Cay,” DeWitt said. “Our hearts and our thoughts were always providing our local community with something.”
