BY SARAH BARBAN
Shore First
The former Watson’s Hardware building has traded nails and saws for expertly crafted cocktails and a carefully curated menu.
Cape Charles Distillery opened in the building in August 2024, after a renovation that transformed the space.
Now there is a sleek downstairs dining area with intimate booths and spaces where groups can relax and enjoy a craft cocktail, as well as a second-floor event space, a cigar lounge, and a rooftop deck. Another change is the addition of food.
Originally located on Strawberry Street, the distillery later relocated to Mason Avenue on the ground floor of recently constructed condominiums.
Neither location offered full food service, but the new space has not one but two kitchens and is turning out delicious food for distillery patrons and private events.
The new food arm of the business is called the Salty Rooster. Currently, a rotating menu of small plates is being served on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 1 to 8 p.m. and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays for brunch. After Memorial Day food service will be daily.
Regional tastes
On a recent Friday the menu featured spicy sweet gochujang chicken lettuce wraps and a perfectly seasoned beef tenderloin steak topped with garlicky butter and served with decadent dauphinoise potatoes.
The menu also featured a bread and cheese board, cheesy baked oysters with crusty bread, and Eastern Shore classics like crabcakes and oysters on the half shell.
The menu is tied together by what Liam Duncan, who co-owns the operation with his wife, Hayley, calls a regional transition menu.
“What that means is that regionally we’re focusing on the Eastern Shore and its food, its plates, and styles of cooking,” he said. “But we’ve made it flexible enough so that when someone comes down from Boston or up from Charleston they will find something on the menu they’re familiar with.”
The menu’s primarily small plate format makes it a great bet for a cozy date night with a few cocktails and a selection of dishes, or an ideal spot to grab drinks and bites with a group before a night out in Cape Charles.
The indulgent feel of the menu and the posh atmosphere pair wonderfully with the distillery’s cocktail menu, which was curated by Hayley, who serves as the mixologist, while Liam works as the distiller.
Classics like the Moscow mule, old fashioned, espresso martini, and cosmo are offered — as are new creations like the zephyr, which combines vodka, grapefruit, Campari, and fresh lemon juice, and the berry smash, a light, refreshing combo of vodka, lemon, berries, and soda.
Currently, the Cape Charles Distillery isn’t able to use its micro-distilled spirits in its cocktails or sell bottles, but the owners are working on transferring their ABC license to their new location and hope to be serving their spirits soon.
After-dinner cigar
Those who like to finish off a good meal with a cigar and a cocktail can select a stogie from the distillery’s collection and cap off the night in the cigar lounge.
The collection of cigars is curated by Tammer Olbiah, who is the Duncans’ partner in the tobacco portion of the business.
The rooftop deck will be open during Memorial Day weekend for those who want to get a peek of Cape Charles from above.
Whether it is the craft cocktails produced at Cape Charles Distillery, the food produced by Salty Rooster, the cigars offered through Vintage cigar, or the vibe the whole space creates, the focus is on quality.
“This is a new project for the distillery,” Liam Duncan said. “So we’ve been very focused on making spirits. We took on this space so we could expand that same type of quality we’ve been doing and offer that in multiple forms. We know bourbon and cigars go together.
“We’re giving people a richer experience.”
GO VISIT
— WHAT: The Salty Rooster, the onsite eatery at Cape Charles Distillery
—
the former
Watson’s Hardware building
SHORE FIRST/
SARAH BARBAN
HOURS: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 1 to 8 p.m. and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays for brunch. After Memorial Day food service will be daily.
