Eatz
Willkommen: Village Brauhaus Opens its Doors in Old Town

Village Brauhaus Opens in Former John Strongbow’s Tavern Space.
By James Cullum
Germans always find an excuse to drink beer, and if you’re looking to settle down for a liter or two of the cold stuff with a genuine imported pretzel or sausage, consider stopping by the Village Brauhaus. After six months of renovation, the German beer hall and restaurant opened on March 1 at 710 King Street.
“Germans always find a good excuse to have a party and there is a festival going on all the time,” Bill Gross, the owner of Village Brauhaus told The Zebra. “I mean, in March they release their Märzen beers, in April they have Fruhlingsfest, which is the spring version of Oktoberfest. And in May there is Mayfest.”
Gross and his wife Chelsea got married last October, went on a quick honeymoon in Mexico and then officially packed up and moved from New York City to Old Town. They signed a 10-year lease with two five year options and got to work on renovating the space, which was home to Medieval-themed John Strongbow’s Tavern.

“There were suits of armor throughout the building,” Chelsea Gross said. “There were murals of knights jumping through the wall. We went with something a little more traditional, especially like in Bavaria. And you see that Germanic house look with ivory white colors and some dark brown natural wood colors.”
Bill Gross, who is half German on his father’s side and half Austrian on his mother’s side, said that there was a heavy presence of Germanic culture in his home as a child. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he opened his first restaurant, the Jägerhaus Gastropub & Biergarten in New York in 2014. He also owns and operates a restaurant consulting group. He and his wife sold the New York restaurant before moving to Alexandria, and said he wants to open more restaurants in the region and isn’t married to the Germanic theme.
“Without risk there is no reward, but I’m not in a rush to start a new concept. I think that the worst thing an entrepreneur can do is to grow too quickly. I want to make sure that we have a very strong foothold here at Village Brauhaus before we start exploring other options,” he said.
