Robert Poitras tapped in to the world of craft beer before it was cool and has shaped an enduring brand in the three decades since
By Renee Ambroso | Photography by John Michael Simpson
Few Tar Heels have a pedigree as lengthy as Robert Poitras, a fourth-generation UNC alum who grew up tailgating at Kenan Memorial Stadium and cheering on basketball stars at Carmichael Arena. It would seem like a no-brainer, then, for him to build his business here, but his decision to open Carolina Brewery on West Franklin Street was a carefully calculated one.
“Chapel Hill … has a special aura about it,” Robert says. “We thought that a casual brewpub would be a good fit. We chose West Franklin [intentionally]. We didn’t want to be on East Franklin. … We wanted to be away from the chains.”
In the early ’90s, standout local eateries popped up there one after another, including Mediterranean Deli and 411 West. Carolina Brewery joined the ranks in February 1995, serving a handful of its own beers on tap and a menu of scratch-made food.
The concept for Robert’s brewpub originated many hundreds of miles away, in a Swiss mountain town snuggled between alpine lakes, while he was studying abroad in 1992. There, he tasted Gurten beer – a traditional Swiss lager with a hoppy flavor – and other European brews. “I really was enamored with the local communities and their sense of pride in their [regional] beers,” he says. Robert spent the following summer living in San Diego, where he noticed an increased interest in artisanal, quality foods and beverages among Americans. It was proof enough for him that a local brewery could thrive in his home state.
Robert subsequently spent his senior year researching craft breweries – visiting more than 100 throughout the country in the process – and enlisting the help of his Kenan-Flagler Business School professors to form a business plan.
When Carolina Brewery opened, the number of small-scale domestic beer producers was drastically fewer than the more than 430 craft breweries our state is home to today.
“We had to do a lot to educate customers about craft beer,” Robert says. At the time, the brewery served its own India pale ale, amber and golden ale on tap and kept coolers stocked with international brands, “[such as] Newcastle Brown Ale. We wanted to educate on classic beer styles, so what we didn’t have on tap we augmented with bottled varieties of the best in class.”
In the three decades since, Carolina Brewery’s taps have championed classic beers and quality methods. “We get the best ingredients we can – the best yeast, hops and malt – whether it’s from Europe or the Pacific Northwest,” Robert says. “We don’t cut corners on our beer. We’re very strict on our quality standards – this is not artistry; it’s science.”
This precision and consistency, Robert says, is what’s led the brewery to grow by double digits year over year and landed its products on the shelves of large retailers including Harris Teeter, Food Lion and Publix – a far cry from when he would hand-deliver kegs to taprooms along the Outer Banks on his way to spend weekends surfing and visiting family.
A second brewpub and production facility opened in Pittsboro in 2007, and distribution throughout North and South Carolina is facilitated by Anheuser Busch.
“We don’t have intentions of going beyond that,” Robert says. “We think Carolina Brewery resonates in our backyard, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
