A major new addition is on its way to Historic Downtown Clinton as plans progress for Sampson County’s first ever taproom coming soon to 104 Fayetteville Street. 

R & R Brewing, a microbrewery originating in Mount Olive, NC specializing in over 10 house made brews is continuing to make progress towards officially breaking ground on their second location which will be located in the historical Henry Vann Building. 

Built in the early 20th century and the previous home of the Vann Motor Company, the Henry Vann Building will soon be a place for members of the community to Rest- Relax- Enjoy in the new R & R Brewing taproom, restaurant area and community hangout space. 

Originally announced by the City of Clinton in early 2023, Owner and head of “Hoperations” Ryan Roberts shared that early structural work has begun to pave the way to begin fully renovating the space. 

The new location will be an increase in space for R & R Brewing, with their Mount Olive location measuring around 1,000 square feet of taproom space (excluding the brewery) and their new location measuring to around 8,000 square feet. 

Standing in the large, hollowed out space, Roberts’ voice echoes as he describes his dreams for the building. 

“There will be two large stairwells there so you can’t see into that area,” said Roberts gesturing to a wall on the left. “This would be what we would refer to as more of the kitchen side or the restaurant side. I don't really want to call it a restaurant per se because it's still kind of attached,” he says walking through the rustic doorway into the future food service area. “And then there will be a sidewalk entrance there and we're going to have a parking lot entrance here," he says, gesturing to the front doors.” 

Working on a historic building doesn't come without rules and regulations. 

“We've almost finalized the engineered plans from the architect. Because it is a historic building, there's a bit of a slower process before you can go in and start swinging hammers. Basically, the local construction company has been able to go in and do some fortifying efforts to make sure that no further roof debris can fall down and kind of stop some of the ‘bleeding’ that may be going on there,” said Roberts. 

While the concept plans for the space are still coming together, they currently include a stage space for live music, a place for the community to come and grab a brew and catch a game, an area for games such as skee ball and cornhole , a kitchen area to serve lunch and dinner and an open, dog friendly area. 

Remnants of the building's history can be found throughout the space including old storage compartments and even an old car elevator from the building’s time as home of the Vann Motor Company. These are elements that Roberts said he would like preserved.

“We're going to try to incorporate it as much as possible in the redesign and so whether you're on the restaurant side or the foodservice side or the taproom side, if you're going to the restroom, you get a chance to check out this cool piece of history and it makes a good photo op,” said Roberts admiring the car elevator. 

Renovations will expand onto the second floor of the building, which is planned to be converted into a number of apartments and living spaces, with more history also available for the future tenants to see. A steel beam contains a piece of history with Henry Vann’s autograph and a small message proudly on display on one of the ceiling beams. 

“You get so used to names of buildings being people that you've never seen, will never meet, will never relate to. And it's funny that you’ve got the name carved on the front of the building and then you actually see where, at one point this person called and placed an order for steel high beams,” said Roberts. 

Roberts shared that the choice to move to Clinton really came from a reaction for the community and the amazing level of support they’ve received thus far. 

“We've looked at Smithfield and Goldsboro and all these places and Clinton really kind of came up as the front runner there. Being kind of the hub area for the Sampson County demographic and then just really coming over myself. We have a couple of customers in the area, we have a steakhouse here that sells our beer and people love it,” shared Roberts. “It's just intense, the size of it. It's got high ceilings, we've got all the square footage, so it's a great opportunity and it's a large undertaking for sure.”