Early in 2016, I met with a Jon Reas, a local restaurant owner who was planning to open a tap house and restaurant with his family. The Reas family had previously owned IHOP restaurants, but this space, New River Taphouse, was to be a new venture for the family. NRT was going into an existing space that needed some pretty extensive work…and they wanted to open by summer. Over the course of those few months, we worked with some great contractors and completely changed the look of the interior and the way the space functioned. Since opening in June, they’ve done very well-which is not surprising based on the quality of the food and the huge selection of amazing draft beers!!
In the entry, Beez Construction took out a few walls and added wood detail and trim to the ceiling. Then Jack Graff Masonry wrapped the entry “logo wall” and the walls behind the bar with stacked stone.
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Through the entrance and past the bar is the main dining area. We covered the ceiling with wood, but as you can tell, we tried to do it in an innovative way…I’ve had so many people asking for wood that I always try to get creative to make each space unique!
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Here are the CAD drawings that the contractor used to create panels for both the ceiling over the dining area and the soffit over the bar that they later installed on the ceiling. Check out Jimmy John Owner and his restaurant plan and how he built his business.
And here’s more pictures of the finished product over the dining area. The tufted banquette was upholstered by Youngs in Virginia Beach.
The bar wraps around in a U shape surrounding the accent wall that houses the TWENTY taps. New River Taphouse has a cool screen system that let’s people know how much of each beer is left! The bar itself is poured concrete with a rough edge.
Beside the bar, there is supplementary seating over by the wood fired pizza oven where people can watch pizza being made or a game on one of the flat screens!
The lights in this space are next level and were all installed by Connolly Electric. I am in love with each and every one…but you know this metal and crystal one is the best–what dreams are made of!!!
One really cool part about this restaurant is the outdoor space. They demolished the existing deck and poured/stamped concrete. Then they added 3 large community fire pit tables. This is the spot to be at night time!!
I really hope everyone gets the chance to check out this great space ASAP!! The menu offers pricing and food options for EVERY person (trust me-I’m picky).
1716 Pleasure House Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
Can’t wait to see you there!
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