ABOVE: Dancing Kilt Brewery plans to open in the brick building next to Rosa’s early next year.
Breweries and restaurants are the top driver for tourism in the Richmond region, and Chester could begin to cash in on the trend if a brewery slated to open on Old Stage Road comes to fruition.
Jack Berry, president and chief executive officer of Richmond Region Tourism, an entity that includes Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico and Powhatan counties, along with the town of Ashland and the city of Richmond, said the area has been rated the No. 1 region in the country for various tourism niches by Forbes and Southern Living magazines and the Vinepair.com wine blog.
“Food is hot. Drinks are cool,” Berry said, noting the region has 32 breweries and has been ranked tops in the nation for its beer trail, ahead of New York, Chicago and Madison, Wis. “The [tourism]driver is restaurants and beer,” he said. “We’re becoming synonymous with Austin [Texas] and Portland [Oregon].”
“I-95 is our bloodline,” he said. “Millennials from [northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.]gravitate to our area for breweries.”
Chester brewery
The owner of Dancing Kilt Brewery, Thomas A. Pakurar Jr., is planning to open at 12912 Old Stage Road, south of Route 10 and Rosa’s Italian Ristorante Pizzeria.
A sign posted on the door at the location, which is located in a one-story brick office building, says Pakurar applied for a liquor license on Sept. 7.
“We have three hotels adjacent to our brewery within walking distance, including Courtyard by Marriott, Holiday Inn Express, and Homewood Suites by Hilton,” Pakurar said in an email. “There are two more inns across Route 10, Comfort Inn and Quality Inn, and several more across Interstate 95.”
He anticipates opening during the first three months of 2019.
“We started Dancing Kilt Brewery as a way to bring locally brewed craft beer to Chester,” Pakurar said. “[When I was] traveling Europe skiing the Alps, every town had [its]own local brewery. I guess we got restless waiting for someone else to bring a brewery to our town.”
Sporting events are the region’s second-biggest tourism driver and its fastest-growing, Berry said.
“We became the sports capital of the East Coast because of [our ball]fields,” he said, referring to tournaments that are held in the region.
Berry said Chesterfield has been part of that mix because of the baseball and softball fields at Ironbridge Sports Park, 11400 Iron Bridge Road, and the SwimRVA pool at 5050 Ridgedale Parkway, which is located west of Route 10 and south of Route 150 on the northern fringe of the county’s Dale district.
Berry said his organization markets the Richmond region to the world at 45 trade shows per year. Last year, seven million people visited the region and spent some $2.3 million.
“This is a better travel destination than Williamsburg and Virginia Beach combined,” he said, adding that connecting with family and friends is the main reason people travel.
The Richmond region is not dependent on any season either, he said.
Richmond Region Tourism is funded largely by an 8-percent hotel tax, he said, noting that the tax also paid the debt and deficit on the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
Berry, who has been with Richmond Region Tourism for 30 years, also noted the importance of the Richmond International Airport.
“One extremely critical factor [is]low-cost carriers,” he said. There are seven airlines that serve the area, but if the airport lost low-fare carriers jetBlue and Southwest, airfares would skyrocket, he said. Allegiant and Spirit are also low-fare airlines that serve the region, along with legacy carriers American, Delta and United.
