May 13

May 13 Five years of bull, brew and possibly eating a shoe

Bull City Ciderworks recently announced the official grand reopening of its Lexington, NC location after a nearly year-long renovation during COVID-19. Organizers say the public event on May 15 will feature music and food trucks to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the Lexington Tap Room and Production Center. Entrance is free to the public.

Bull City’s renovation includes an outdoor courtyard area. {Contributed Photo}

Bull City Ciderworks started in Durham, NC in 2014 and expanded operations to Lexington, NC in 2016. Davidson County native and North Davidson graduate John Clowney is the CEO of Bull City Ciderworks and worked his way from the northern part of the county to Wake Forest where he earned a bachelor’s degree in analytical finance and a master of science in accountancy.

Clowney made his way from Wall Street to a private firm in Raleigh. He started making cider as a hobby and still has some of the original equipment on display in the Lexington cidery. Bull City Ciderworks is the Research Triangle’s first owned and operated cidery and one of the largest cideries in the Southeastern United States. The company produces a full range of award- winning natural, fruited and barrel-aged ciders that are distributed in package and draft formats across North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

The most recent renovations feature hip and muraled outdoor space. Guests will also be able to see behind the scenes office and production related additions. Newly minted marketing and communications specialist, Maggie Sandy, joined the team because she’s a fan of the cider and has a vision to see the space used for weddings, special events and other celebrations.

“We had always anticipated expanding the retail space, but we had to work on production,” said Clowney. “Our vision was to take parts of the older, abandoned and broken-down buildings and create yard space. Yard space is a premium for all of our locations. Not just because of the pandemic. We wanted something like that here, too."

A ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the Lexington Chamber of Commerce will commence at noon. Guests can learn more about the history and future of the cider company, including interesting facts. The Lexington location is the largest in the Bull City family. Clowney said renovation of the retail space was a dream from the origin.

The staff has ambitious plans for increasing visitors to the Lexington Location.

This includes a healthy competition with the highest-producing Durham team. Sandy explained that a Lexington native and Durham's current retail production manager, Robby Battle, offered to "Eat a shoe" if the Lexington location had a single month of more retail revenue.

"We're getting a smoker ready so we can make that shoe more palatable," Clowney said.

Sandy added, "Oh, it's happening. We'll be sure to get him some barbecue sauce."

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