Over the Moon : Restless Moons Brewing To Replace Wolfe Street With Grand Opening
February 22, 2018
Daily News Record 2/22/18
Many people work their entire lives to achieve a lifelong dream. Some don’t achieve it at all.
For Jeff Moon, however, it only took 27 years before he was able to put a big fat check next to one item on his bucket list: owning his own brewery. In November, Moon bought Wolfe Street Brewing from its previous owners and, as of Saturday, Feb. 24, the brewery will run under the name Restless Moons Brewing.
“In March of last year, the previous owners decided they were interested in selling the place,” Moon said. “Opening up a brewery was something I’ve always dreamed of, so I found out they were looking to sell, and obviously I was interested. I came down here, fell in love with the brewery and the town and decided that I’d make a go of it.”
Moon grew up outside of Pittsburgh and moved to Washington, D.C., after he finished his bachelor’s degree. He worked in D.C. for the last six years before hearing about the brewery for sale, which he jumped at the chance to buy.
“For the brewery, the size of it is enough that one person can manage it, which means that I can be very involved in the brewing process, as well as the running of the business,” he said. “The space itself is really unique and cool. I think that’s one of the appeals of the place: It’s an old car garage and it’s got a really cool vibe to it.”
Prior to owning Restless Moons, Moon explained that he didn’t have much experience brewing his own beer outside of home brewing and volunteering at a handful of breweries in Northern Virginia. But, as he said, despite his lack of experience, being able to brew his own beers was a big deal.
“[With] owning a business, the appeal for me wasn’t managing people or anything like that. I love brewing and I loved home brewing, so the idea of, ‘I could be brewing the batches and also running the bar,’ was pretty much the perfect size for me,” he said.
Once the bar reopens on Saturday, all beers on tap will be his creations, so patrons won’t see any crossover with Wolfe Street beers. But Moon is confident in his beers because, as he explained, he trusts his own process and does plenty of research prior to making each one.
“We’re going to have 10 beers on tap. On Saturday, we’re releasing five brand new ones,” he said. “A lot of people are obsessed with finding recipes and fine tuning them. I have much more confidence in my process, and there is a wealth of knowledge already out there on good recipes you can use, so I do a lot of research into what I’m going to be making. I put together something that I think will work and I just have confidence.”
While Moon took over in mid-November, he decided not to change the name for a few months because he knew many people were accustomed to the Wolfe Street moniker.
“We had always planned that we were going to change the name, but we didn’t do it immediately because we knew there were people who really did like Wolfe Street,” he said. “We felt it was important to ease people into it; let them know, ‘Hey, ownership has changed,’ and give it a little bit of time so they don’t think the sky is falling and everything is changing.”
And as for the new name, Moon said the restless part of the name came from a feeling he had while living in D.C.
“Since I’ve always wanted to own a brewery, I spent a lot of time imagining what I’m going to name the place,” he said. “One of the biggest reasons we wanted to do this is because I was really unsatisfied living up in D.C. I found myself incredibly bored most of the time and I really felt I could do more with myself, so restless seemed to be pretty fitting.”
Along with the five new beers, there are other activities planned for Restless Moons’ opening on Saturday. The first 50 customers will receive a free 5-ounce branded tasting glass. There will be a food truck, a food stand, Mandy’s Candy will be at the brewery, along with live music. Bittersweet Bakery, which is next door, is also making a cake to commemorate the event.
Despite Wolfe Street being in business for three years, Moon said people have noticed the change in ownership and seem to have responded well to what he is bringing to the brewery scene in Harrisonburg.
“People seem very happy to be able to interact with me,” he said. “Harrisonburg is a very people-driven town; they like being able to interact with each other. I think they like that I’m here and am able to chat with them about the beer. Everyone seems to like the beer so far, so that’s encouraging to me. The ones who come in here and give us a shot will see the place is still the same. The beer is still great, it’s just a different name.”
Jeff Moon carries a box of glasses and Lacey Vilandry, 23, of Harrisonburg, paints
growlers into storage Tuesday afternoon as a mural on the outside of Restless Moons Brewing
he prepares for the Grand Opening of on Tuesday afternoon. The brewery will have a
Restless Moons Brewing this weekend. Grand Opening on Saturday.
Jeff Moon heads inside after carrying a box
of bottles into storage on Tuesday afternoon
at Restless Noons Brewing.
Many people work their entire lives to achieve a lifelong dream. Some don’t achieve it at all.
For Jeff Moon, however, it only took 27 years before he was able to put a big fat check next to one item on his bucket list: owning his own brewery. In November, Moon bought Wolfe Street Brewing from its previous owners and, as of Saturday, Feb. 24, the brewery will run under the name Restless Moons Brewing.
“In March of last year, the previous owners decided they were interested in selling the place,” Moon said. “Opening up a brewery was something I’ve always dreamed of, so I found out they were looking to sell, and obviously I was interested. I came down here, fell in love with the brewery and the town and decided that I’d make a go of it.”
Moon grew up outside of Pittsburgh and moved to Washington, D.C., after he finished his bachelor’s degree. He worked in D.C. for the last six years before hearing about the brewery for sale, which he jumped at the chance to buy.
“For the brewery, the size of it is enough that one person can manage it, which means that I can be very involved in the brewing process, as well as the running of the business,” he said. “The space itself is really unique and cool. I think that’s one of the appeals of the place: It’s an old car garage and it’s got a really cool vibe to it.”
Prior to owning Restless Moons, Moon explained that he didn’t have much experience brewing his own beer outside of home brewing and volunteering at a handful of breweries in Northern Virginia. But, as he said, despite his lack of experience, being able to brew his own beers was a big deal.
“[With] owning a business, the appeal for me wasn’t managing people or anything like that. I love brewing and I loved home brewing, so the idea of, ‘I could be brewing the batches and also running the bar,’ was pretty much the perfect size for me,” he said.
Once the bar reopens on Saturday, all beers on tap will be his creations, so patrons won’t see any crossover with Wolfe Street beers. But Moon is confident in his beers because, as he explained, he trusts his own process and does plenty of research prior to making each one.
“We’re going to have 10 beers on tap. On Saturday, we’re releasing five brand new ones,” he said. “A lot of people are obsessed with finding recipes and fine tuning them. I have much more confidence in my process, and there is a wealth of knowledge already out there on good recipes you can use, so I do a lot of research into what I’m going to be making. I put together something that I think will work and I just have confidence.”
While Moon took over in mid-November, he decided not to change the name for a few months because he knew many people were accustomed to the Wolfe Street moniker.
“We had always planned that we were going to change the name, but we didn’t do it immediately because we knew there were people who really did like Wolfe Street,” he said. “We felt it was important to ease people into it; let them know, ‘Hey, ownership has changed,’ and give it a little bit of time so they don’t think the sky is falling and everything is changing.”
And as for the new name, Moon said the restless part of the name came from a feeling he had while living in D.C.
“Since I’ve always wanted to own a brewery, I spent a lot of time imagining what I’m going to name the place,” he said. “One of the biggest reasons we wanted to do this is because I was really unsatisfied living up in D.C. I found myself incredibly bored most of the time and I really felt I could do more with myself, so restless seemed to be pretty fitting.”
Along with the five new beers, there are other activities planned for Restless Moons’ opening on Saturday. The first 50 customers will receive a free 5-ounce branded tasting glass. There will be a food truck, a food stand, Mandy’s Candy will be at the brewery, along with live music. Bittersweet Bakery, which is next door, is also making a cake to commemorate the event.
Despite Wolfe Street being in business for three years, Moon said people have noticed the change in ownership and seem to have responded well to what he is bringing to the brewery scene in Harrisonburg.
“People seem very happy to be able to interact with me,” he said. “Harrisonburg is a very people-driven town; they like being able to interact with each other. I think they like that I’m here and am able to chat with them about the beer. Everyone seems to like the beer so far, so that’s encouraging to me. The ones who come in here and give us a shot will see the place is still the same. The beer is still great, it’s just a different name.”
Jeff Moon carries a box of glasses and Lacey Vilandry, 23, of Harrisonburg, paints
growlers into storage Tuesday afternoon as a mural on the outside of Restless Moons Brewing
he prepares for the Grand Opening of on Tuesday afternoon. The brewery will have a
Restless Moons Brewing this weekend. Grand Opening on Saturday.
Jeff Moon heads inside after carrying a box
of bottles into storage on Tuesday afternoon
at Restless Noons Brewing.
