Distillery, event venue and arcade bar to open in Depot District
Michael Tesh stands in a former Lexington Furniture Industries factory he is redeveloping as the Holland Brooks distillery and event venue that will open this summer in the Depot District. {Vikki Broughton Hodges/Davidson Local}
Michael Tesh, a Lexington Realtor and developer, plans to open Holland Brooks, a distillery and event venue, this summer in the first phase of redeveloping 62,000 square feet of space in buildings that once housed candy and furniture factories decades ago in the Depot District of Lexington.
Ryan Short, owner of Ryan Short Entertainment and Rentals in Lexington, will also open (around the same time) Short Circuit, a bar with a wide variety of arcade games, in 4,500 square feet of space in the complex at 206 E. Third Ave. near the Breeden Insurance Amphitheater.
Holland Brooks, named after Tesh’s uncle, will comprise 15,000 square feet of space with a separate production area and barrel aging room and a large open space in the middle for events as well as a bar and restrooms. There will be adjacent bride-and-groom suites for wedding parties.
“Weddings may be our sweet spot but it’s not one-dimensional,” Tesh noted. “It’s going to be a multifunctional space suitable for receptions, Christmas parties, live music, maybe even proms.”
The venue space could host parties of up to 400 people but Tesh anticipates most events would be for around 250 people.
A beau truss roof, stained to resemble a charred whiskey barrel, covers the area where a distillery and event venue is taking shape in a former furniture factory in the Depot District. {Contributed photo}
The major redevelopment project began in earnest in October with the replacement of the roof on the long-vacant building that once housed the maintenance shop and a finishing room of Lexington Furniture Industries. A beau truss stained the color of a charred whiskey barrel was erected to replace the collapsed roof. A new floor will be poured four feet below the old floor, creating a mezzanine level on one end of the event space.
“This will be the first legal distillery in Davidson County.” Tesh offered Holland Brooks will produce whiskey, bourbon, flavored moonshine and likely gin and rum.
Tesh and others are currently testing recipes off site until the renovations are completed and production equipment is installed.
The Realtor and developer, who is a Welcome native and resident, is the sole owner of the 62,000-square-foot complex. He said a second phase of mixed-use development, which will include the old N.C. Candy Factory building, will likely begin in the fall and be completed by the summer of 2024. That phase will include a couple of food options and a courtyard, which could be used for small weddings and comparable events.
Tesh was inspired by redevelopment in downtown Greensboro off South Elm Street where a distillery, craft brewery, arcade bar, event space and restaurants form an entertainment district.
“That whole area is a cool concept. Part of the fun of doing this is taking day trips and doing a little R&D [research and development] to see what others are doing.
“Even though this area is going to be made up of different businesses, I want it to seem like one campus,” Tesh added.
Tesh said his project should fit right in with the nearby Bull City Ciderworks that opened in 2016 and Goose and the Monkey Brewhouse that opened in 2020, which are also in old furniture factories that once formed the sprawling Lexington Furniture Industries (formerly Dixie Furniture) campus along the railroad tracks. A new Amtrak station is planned for the Depot District in a few years.
“This is going to be a good complement to what’s already here,” he said.
“This building tells a great story.”
Tesh is not new to repurposing historic buildings in Lexington. He renovated the former Lexington Farmer’s Co-op building for City Fitness, which later relocated to a building in the Depot District he also renovated. He has redeveloped spaces in older buildings near the corner of North Main Street and East Second Street in downtown Lexington for Red Donut, Textür Salon & Wellness Spa, 2nd & Main and Lexington Bike Shop.
The arcade bar is something Short had planned to open in Lexington several years ago just before the pandemic shut down bars and many other businesses. He is happy to be part of this new development.
Short’s new business grew from the fact that he started collecting and refurbishing arcade games about five to six years ago. He started with two but currently has more than 100. “I collected so many my family threatened to call the ‘Hoarders’ TV show,” he shared with a laugh.
The Lexington native will have 30 to 40 arcade games at any one time and will rotate them in and out to give people new experiences. “But I’ll always have the classics like pinball, Air Hockey, Pac-Man and Galaga.”
Ryan Short will open Short Circuit, an arcade bar, in part of the Holland Brooks complex in the Depot District this summer. {Vikki Broughton Hodges/Davidson Local}
Short hopes to attract people of all ages who want to play the games they grew up playing, whether that’s a baseball game from the 1960s, Pac-Man from the 1980s or zombie-themed games from the 1990s. “I see it as a place where multiple generations can enjoy playing together and go back in time to their childhoods.”
Short Circuit will have a full bar serving Holland Brooks spirits and local craft beers, ciders and wine but will also offer a variety of non-local drinks. There will be light snacks such as popcorn and TVs for customers who want to follow sports.
“We want to cater to everyone,” he said, adding there will be seating inside the space as well as on a covered patio near the amphitheater.
