Raleigh-based Lonerider Brewing Co. is coming to the Bull City with plans to open its fourth location in the Triangle later this year.
The brewery is set to be the first major tenant at the Borden Brick development in downtown Durham, according to Raleigh-based real estate firm CityPlat, the developer behind the upcoming retail and entertainment complex.
Lonerider will occupy 3,300 of the 13,000 total leasable square feet on Ramseur Road at the corner with Fayetteville Street and just off the Durham Freeway. Lonerider President and Founder Sumit Vohra estimated the project will cost about $400,000 and will be completed by fall. Vohra said he had previously considered moving into Durham before partnering with the firm for this venture, which also includes Lonerider Spirits, the company’s distillery operation.
“We didn’t execute until we recently started working with CityPlat,” Vohra said. “They gave us more assurance because they have a grand vision as well of the new location.”
In October, CityPlat announced plans for the historic property, formerly the Borden Brick and Tile Co. factory. The new development is named for the Borden family, which began brick manufacturing in Goldsboro in 1911 before moving the company to Durham in 1929. Cherokee Sanford Brick bought the company in 1989.
“We’re super excited to do this project in Durham and especially about keeping the history of the facility in tact,” said Gaurav “G” Patel, senior advisor at CityPlat. “The Borden family had a major impact on brick production in the area for several years.”
Lonerider opened its original location, called the taproom, in Raleigh in 2009. It’s second location, the Hideout, opened in Wake Forest in 2019. Another Hideout location — the company’s first full-service restaurant — opened in Raleigh’s Five Points in November.
Lonerider has always had long-term plans to expand its operations but has had to adapt amid the pandemic.
“The pandemic slowed things down for us considerably, but once we were able to realign and figure out how to run our business again with all the challenges, we were able to get back to our strategy and focus on growth,” Vohra said. “Essentially, we felt like we had to do this; this was our future. We made sure that we were able to run the business like we were supposed to so we could take the chances that we were planning to take all along.”
Vohra said the new Durham location will be part of a “little ecosystem that’s close to the ballpark and other craft producers where folks can hang out.”