After 22 years Eric Reece, Tina Mackenzie and Aubrey and Karen Davis sold the Outer Banks Brewing Station in Kill Devil Hills. With its iconic wind turbine helping to power the business in the backyard and award winning beers, the Brewing Station is so many ways represented what was best about Outer Banks entrepreneurship.
The concept for the restaurant and microbrewery came from time Aubrey and Eric spent working overseas. And it took a lot of moxie to take a flyer on a concept that hadn’t really been tried on the Outer Banks.
From the outset, though, they seemed to understand what was really important—good food, good service, very nice beer and just as importantly, being engaged with the community.
Along the way there have been quite a number of innovations—the size of their beer production certainly being one of them. But more than that, they believed in alternative energy and they fought to get that turbine in the Brewing Station’s back yard.
But they didn’t stop there with their backyard. They were the first on the Outer Banks to specially develop their outdoor space for entertainment. Others have done it since, but they were the first.
From public statements that Reece and Davis have made, it looks as though the new owners will keep things pretty much as they were. Some of that may have been a condition of the sale. Given the quality of the staff, it probably wasn’t too difficult to insure the full-time people would stay on, but that seems to have been one of the conditions placed on finalizing the deal.
We’ll see how it goes. The new owners certainly are taking on a very successful venture, with a well-established record of service and success. Hopefully it will continue.
There’s always something interesting happening on the Outer Banks. Be sure to stop by for a visit in a Brindley Beach Vacations home and see what’s happening.