Reston Watering Hole Set To Expand Presence At Lake Anne

RESTON, VA — Last April, the Lake Anne Brew House celebrated its ninth year as a successful small business located in the historic Lake Anne Plaza in Reston.

Owner Melissa Romano told Patch on Tuesday that the brew house continues to have an interest in investing in the Reston community.

"We purchased that property in 2015 to do just that," she said. "We saw a need for a community gathering space. We found a property that had in essence been abandoned and was sitting empty. We renovated it and turned it into that little brewery."

Romano said the brew house had acquired the neighboring space formerly occupied by Chesapeake Chocolates in order to expand its taproom and bar space.

"Hopefully we'll be able to double our seating capacity between interior space and expanded exterior space. That's dependent on the plaza's willingness to expand our outdoor seating, as well," she said. "We look forward to being able to have a more welcoming tap room and a nicer, bigger bar."

Jason Romano, Melissa's husband, oversees brewing at the craft brewery. Its Reston Red finished first among amber ales in the 2022 Virginia Craft Beer Cup, earning a gold medal.

Lake Anne Brew House is located at 11424 Washington Plaza West in Reston. Its hours are 4-9 p.m., Wednesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday, and 1-6 p.m., Sunday.

Also See:

• Lake Anne Brew House Takes Home Gold In 2022 Virginia Craft Beer Cup
• $40K In Prize Money To Help Nordic-Knot Pretzel Bakery Better Serve Reston Community
• Here's A Twist: Reston Pretzel Maker Finalist In Barclays' Small Business Promotion
• Lake Anne Brew House Adopts Can-Do Approach To Coronavirus

For the renovation, Melissa Romano, who is a trained architect, will work with Matt Stevison of the Reston-based firm, FGM Architects.

Together with sister company Nordic-Knot, the brew house will double its bar and taproom seating and extend pickup hours for Nordic-Knot’s signature Scandinavian pretzels.

"Nine years later, we are sitting with, in essence, vacant properties on either side of us again," Romano said. "It's hard not to want to continue to invest in the Lake Anne community, because we're deeply connected with this community, and we want to see the plaza thrive and flourish."

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