The World of Beer restaurant coming to Rockville received its liquor license Thursday from Montgomery County and franchise owner Matthew Earl said he is aiming for an early 2016 opening.
Earl said Thursday construction of the restaurant’s 4,100-square-foot space on the ground floor of The Upton apartment building near Rockville Town Square will begin soon. He said the restaurant’s design is complete and the timetable for the start of construction will depend on how quickly the restaurant can obtain required permits.
Earl said he has already talked with county Department of Liquor Control (DLC) officials about how to ensure the restaurant can stock its signature lineup of more than 500 bottled beers and 50 beers on tap.
Over the past year, the DLC has been criticized during several County Council committee meetings by local restaurant owners who say they have difficulty ordering and receiving craft beers through the department, which controls the wholesale distribution of all alcohol products in the county.
In response to this issue and other complaints, the County Council approved a resolution in July asking that state law be changed to allow private distributors to sell specific craft beers and limited-production wines in the county. The General Assembly still has to approve the measure, which isn’t likely to occur until at least late spring 2016.
Earl said DLC officials who were provided with the restaurant’s voluminous beer list have told him that they’ll be able to order the requested beers, but would not be able to guarantee the timing of when they would be delivered. He plans on providing the DLC with more lead time on orders to make sure the restaurant remains stocked with beer.
“The process is a little more complicated,” Earl said. “With any endeavor, you’re always faced with challenges.”
This isn’t Earl’s first experience with World of Beer. He helped open a franchise of the chain in Baltimore in 2013, although he said he no longer has an ownership role with that restaurant. He’s also in the process of opening a different location in Towson this fall, according to Bisnow.
Earl, who previously worked in radiation oncology at the University of Maryland, said he was looking for a career change when he decided to enter the restaurant industry.
“Owning a restaurant or tavern has been something I had always wanted to do since I was in college,” Earl said. “I’ve always been a beer lover, so when the World of Beer concept came up I started doing some investigation and went for it.”
