Two Friends Brewery owner proposes a friendly establishment on Hilton Head Island

When Thomas Gadhue tried to come up with the name for his new beer crafting company, Two Friends Brewery, he was literally sitting with his two friends, trying to create the perfect title.

The answer was right there in front of him.

“It had a warm feeling to it,” he said.

Almost an acre worth of bar, beer and tasting room could make its way to Hilton Head Island.

Gadhue, a Vermont-native who’s been coming to the island since the 1980s, applied to the Town of Hilton Head to build his new brewery on New Orleans Road on June 10. He said he wants to create collaborative brews with companies he knows in Vermont and even experiment with the maple syrup industry.

“Our goal is to be on every tap handle of restaurants and places that have draft beer and craft beer on Hilton Head Island, to start with,” he said.

KRA architecture and design represented Gadhue at a meeting on June 20, where town officials submitted their feedback on Gadhue’s original site plans. The next step for Two Friends Brewery is to resubmit the final design for review, which Gadhue hopes to do within the next month.

“We’re getting into the permit process,” he said. “I’m hoping to be open in a year from now.”

The prospective brewery would contain 7,000-square-feet for a manufacturing warehouse, 2,000-square-feet for a kitchen, bar and tasting room, and 1,000-square-feet of office space. A 1,800-square-foot open rooftop bar is also in the works, according to the application submitted to the town’s Community Development Department.

Gadhue said he hoped to open with a 30-barrel system, which in terms of size would mean a medium sized brewery. The brewery would be at 27 and 29 New Orleans Road. Thirty-one parking spaces, a curb cut on New Orleans Road and a loading area would also be required for development of the site.

Inside, Gadhue intends to retain the comfort and beauty of the Lowcountry. With the help of a business associate, Gadhue said he plans to gather butternut wood from the Carolinas, craft the lumber into tabletops in Vermont and ship them back home to his brewery.

“We’re trying to do a lot of reclaimed, local stuff,” he said. “Comfortable, classic.”

Brewery owners in South Carolina are all too familiar with exceptionally high taxes; the state charges 77 cents per gallon of beer, one of the highest rates in the country, according to Gadhue.

“A lot of breweries stay away from (South Carolina) because of that,” he said.

Despite the extra financial burden, Gadhue said he was still optimistic about opening his brewery and hopes that state legislatures will soon catch on to the craft brew trend that’s swept the nation.

“It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is,” he said.

Gadhue said he ultimately wants to create a “classy establishment,” where those in their 70s feel comfortable with a mix of people in their 20s.

“We want to know everyone by their first name,” he said. “You know, a warm feeling with a quality product.”

This story was originally published June 30, 2016 at 12:36 PM with the headline "Two Friends Brewery owner proposes a friendly establishment on Hilton Head Island."