This tucked-away beer garden and bottle shop in Winston-Salem is a hidden gem known for live music — jazz night on Thursdays is especially popular — and a large tap selection, which even includes cider and kombucha. In warmer months, you can sip your drink on the gravel patio or near the open garage doors for a view of the action inside.
The Southside Beer Garden and Bottle Shop
2108 South Broad Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27127
(336) 955-2277
thesouthsidebeergardenbottleshop.business.site
Located on the Rocky Mount Mills campus, this bottle shop is not actually surrounded by water — or goats. Instead, it’s named after an island in the nearby Tar River, and is located in a historic toolshed from the original mill property. Choose a brew — there are hundreds of bottles and cans to browse, as well as a rotating tap — and kick back in the beer garden, which features string lights, long tables, and live music.
Goat Island Bottle Shop
1139 Falls Road, Suite 127
Rocky Mount, NC 27804
(252) 545-6521
facebook.com/goatislandbottleshop
Sam’s Bottle Shop has deep roots in Durham: It began as Sam’s Quik Shop, a legendary convenience store that opened near Duke’s campus in 1974. Today, this larger store in south Durham offers a huge selection of craft beers (and wines) to peruse, plus a rotating tap. Make sure you journey upstairs to find the tasting room and outdoor deck.
Sam’s Bottle Shop
1112 NC Highway 54
Durham, NC 27707
(919) 973-2489
samsbottleshop.com
This award-winning south Asheville bottle shop and hangout features 21 rotating taps, plus a selection of bottles and cans. If you’re hungry, order from Marco’s Pizza a few doors down and bring your dinner into the taproom. On Tuesday and Thursday nights, Craft Centric offers a much-loved trivia night.
Craft Centric Taproom and Bottle Shop
100 Julian Shoals Drive, No. 40
Arden, NC 28704
(828) 676-0075
craftcentricbeer.com
Whether you’re looking for a North Carolina IPA or a Bud Light, you’ll have options at this one-stop shop. After you make your selection, venture out to the beachy backyard beer garden — kid-friendly and dog-friendly — and slip into an Adirondack chair.
Lighthouse Beer and Wine
220 Causeway Drive
Wrightsville Beach, NC 28480
(910) 256-8622
lighthousebeerandwine.com
In North Carolina, spring brings the scent of fresh-cut grass and memories of helping Dad mow the lawn.
Nostalgic burger joints are like time machines, delivering something extra special that keeps us coming back.
This tiny city block in downtown Greensboro once had a gigantic reputation. Not so much for its charbroiled beef patties — though they, too, were plentiful — but for its colorful characters and their wild shenanigans.
In the 1950s, as Americans hit freshly paved roads in shiny new cars during the postwar boom, a new kind of restaurant took shape: the drive-in. From those first thin patties to the elaborate gourmet hamburgers of today, North Carolina has spent the past 80 years making burger history.
