Mad Fox Brewery, Brewer Bill Madden in Falls Church - Closed

[Lydia R]

'flygirl said:

It is on Catoctin Circle and they brew their beer on site. In fact, you can only get their own beer there.

Looks like they're planning a November opening for Mad Fox Brewery on W. Broad St in Falls Church. From the Washington Business Journal's Missy Frederick:

'Washington Business Journal said:

Bill Madden , executive brewer at Leesburg's Vintage 50 Restaurant and Brew Lounge, where the beer geek contingent obsesses over his brews, is the man behind the suds. Mad Fox hopes to begin opening tap rooms all over the Washington area, according to board member Rick Garvin.

[RickG]

Looks like they're planning a November opening for Mad Fox Brewery on W. Broad St in Falls Church. From the Washington Business Journal's Missy Frederick:

Hi, Rick here. We're working on finishing up our fundraising and hope to sign the lease at the beginning of May. The location is 444 West Broad Street in Falls Church City with 8,600 square feet.

Cheers, RickG

[DonRocks]

Hi, Rick here. We're working on finishing up our fundraising and hope to sign the lease at the beginning of May. The location is 444 West Broad Street in Falls Church City with 8,600 square feet.

Cheers, RickG

Opening July 12th?

[TSchaad]

Opening July 12th?

Just got word thru Wendy's Screwtop Winebar Facebook page that the new Falls Church Brewpub has opened today. I'll have to get over there and try it out this week. More information on their webpage here.

TSchaad

[RickG]

Just got word thru Wendy's Screwtop Winebar Facebook page that the new Falls Church Brewpub has opened today. I'll have to get over there and try it out this week. More information on their webpage here.

TSchaad

We opened Mad Fox today quietly today at 11AM. Lunch was quiet with about 90 covers. Dinner was a bit exciting and the kitchen is starting to catch up at 10PM. It's been a long hard run. The Falls Church locals who found out we were open have been very happy to have another option. Hopefully the week will be a bit calmer than tonight to let us dial things in before Friday. But, the beer geek blogs are humming.

See you at the Pub.

Cheers, Rick

[ema]

I was there yesterday. The microbrews were excellent and only $5 each at regular hours. There were still some kinks to work out for this new restaurant. They ran out of several items on the menu before 8:00 PM on a Friday night. I was told that the wait will be over an hour and I was seated in less than 20 min, not that I am complaining about my short wait, but many potential customers that came in after me decided to leave after they were told that it will be close to 1.5 hours wait. There were also 6 empty tables when I sat down. My only guess was that the hostess was waiting on people to drive back to the restaurant after leaving their cell phone number and being told the wait will be over an hour.

Now on to the food. Our server raved about the mussels. I thought it was only ok, since I am spoiled by mussels from Beck, Blacksalt, and Radius Pizza. The fries were also not as crisp and hot as I would have liked although I liked the alternative house made ketchup and curry dipping sauces instead of the boring old Heinz. The NY pizza was an excellent value, but the crust was too soggy and nothing like the NY pizza I had 2 weeks ago from Artichoke.

[theakston]

We have been here five times since it opened and it seems to get better each time around. To an extent it has been a victim of its own success - the brewer is struggling to keep supplies up to match the demand, although we have always been able to find a couple of tasty brews to enjoy - even if the type of beer on offer would not normally have been my first choice. Whenever we have visited in the evenings it has been slammed (lunch times are better).

The food is far better than it needs to be in a brewpub with its focus on the beer. For appetizers I love the frickles (made with their home-made pickles) and the pork belly app is also excellent. For mains I have tried both styles of pizza. The New York style was huge but the crust could, for me, have benefited from a little more char (that was my first visit so the chef was probably still getting used to the pizza oven). I liked the Naples style better with the fresh Mozz, especially the duck one! I have also enjoyed the Slow Smoked Brisket Sandwich, Pork Tenderloin and the (huge) Stuffed Meatloaf. All have been good.

Back to the beer: I've enjoyed Bill's beers at his previous locations so I was delighted to hear he was opening his own place. Bill has a wide range of beers in his portfolio, but he tends to specialize in British styles, so it is good to see that he has, I think, six beer engines behind the bar to dispense the traditional cask ales (such as a pale ale, a delicious English Summer ale, a porter, an 80 shilling and a wee heavy - that I have tried on my visits). Other beers that I have tried (not on cask) have been the Belgian style Saison and the German style Hefeweizen. The pale ales are gone almost as soon as they are brewed - but he is ramping up the brewing so there are many gallons if ale in the tanks.

I think Bill is a more conservative brewer than many of his peers - he picks a style and nails it consistently - he doesn't really go for the over the top hoppy or experimental. He does occasionally feature a "stealth" beer - which is usually one of the more extreme beer styles. These are not on the menu (but check out his blog or the madfox facebook). If you visit during the day you will probably see Bill at work and be able to inhale the aromas of his labor. While I love the smell myself it can be a little distracting -it makes it hard to appreciate the beer you are drinking while immersed in the aroma of the one you will be drinking in a couple of weeks.

[SeanMike]

Wow, the search engine on the board really didn't want me to find this thread!

So, I've been there twice in the past few days.

Wednesday night I went with my brother and sister-in-law, meeting some other friends out there. It was crowded but not too bad and we just grabbed seats at the bar.

BEER: I was surprised at the quality of beers and how many they had on cask (given our frustrations the other week at finding cask beers at some places). I tried a few of them, plus we shared a glass of the mead (actually, the bartender split it up for us into four glasses which I thought was very nice of her to do). I hadn't realized on Wednesday (though I knew by the time I returned on Saturday) that the brewer had done Founders, which used to be one of my favorite places to hit in Alexandria. (In fact, once it disappeared, we pretty much stopped going to Alexandria.) I enjoyed all of the beers that I had, so I can't really say "OMG you totes have to try this one". Though the Molotov Hopstail double IPA is probably my favorite so far.

However, trust your bartender. I was seriously impressed by the service at the bar, including their knowledge of the beers and how up to five of them (on Saturday evening) handled the bar as a team. They've got a solid thing going there, and it makes me happy to see.

Also, Saturday night had a happy hour until 7 - not sure when it started, but man, $3 for one of their beers? Yes, please! (Not the cask beers, unfortunately.) They're normally $5, which is darn good for this area and the quality of the beers.

I even liked the kolsch, which is a rarity for me.

FOOD: Wednesday night we split an order of the porter barbecue wings. They came out with the homemade sauce on there just right - not too much sauce, so they weren't incredibly messy, but also perfectly cooked, the meat almost falling off the bone. It's not a huge portion of wings, but I felt a good size for the price, and the taste was great.

I got the stuffed pork chop. It was very good but almost too much for me in richness - stuffed with prosciutto and provolone, wrapped in bacon? Yummy, but oof! The brussel sprouts with it were quite tasty (surprising to me) and the potatoes were fine. My brother got the brisket sandwich and loved it.

On Saturday I got the pork belly. It was quite tasty, especially with the grits (I think) that it came with, but I could've used a sharper knife than the butter knife I was given.

SERVICE: Again, the service was outstanding both days I was there. Saturday was PACKED. Most of the people were clearly waiting for tables, but I still had no problem getting a seat at the bar, and there seemed to be at least a couple of seats usually available. If you were coming with more than two people, though, I could see where it'd be a problem. They mentioned on Saturday too that the pizzas were doing really well that day - we saw tons of boxes going by.

All in all I'm very happy to see this place doing so well already and hope it keeps up doing this well. The food and beers mean I'll be visiting it regularly, especially when hanging out with my brother and friends in EFC, and I can't wait to see what fall styles of beer he makes. If it had more TVs, I'd definitely want to go there for some football games, but it might be a good thing they only have a couple...

[dcs]

The microbrews were excellent and only $5 each at regular hours.

I had the atrociously named Molotov Hoptail, which is a double IPA served in a snifter, and followed with an American Pale Ale. The Pale Ale was served in what was later described to me over the phone as a 12 ounce "pint" glass.* It makes the $5 somewhat less of a value, but not unreasonable. Both were well made beers, alhough the Pale Ale was a little more cloudy than I am used to seeing, but still quite enjoyable.

* I mean, the thing "looked" like a pint glass, but something kept nagging at me about it, which is why I called back. I definitely need more to do with my life than worry about such trifles.

[TheMoonwalker]

My take:

I wouldn't bother coming back for the food. Nor the beer. But I would come back for some great service from our bartender, Tony!

The Brisket Sandwich looked like it was going to be dry but to my pleasure was not. It was pretty decent. I subbed my fries with some very large and very good onion rings. Some sauces that came with it were:

BBQ: Really more like BBQ sauce with curry powder

Ketchup: It's reminds me more of the "Tomato Sauce" I received in Australia with an unusual after taste. I prefer my Heinz.

Spicy Chipotle: Really just Ranch sauce with some chipotle mixed in.

Steak Sauce: Au Jus

The Brisket Sandwich itself is kind of bland and Antonio and I determined that it needed some cole slaw on it to give it some greater depth in flavor and texture. Hopefully they modify the menu offering to include it.

Tony was awesome in allowing us to sample the beers. The Altbier was their best. It wasn't similar to any of the Altbiers I had in Dusseldorf, but it stood on its own as a flavorful yet light, crisp and refreshing beer. The wheat beer was way too sharp in odor and flavor for me. And their scotch beer tasted more like dessert wine.

From the inside this place looks exactly like Gordon Biersch, and I think I'd prefer going there instead of Mad Fox.

[jparrott]

I dropped by for a quick pint Saturday night, and was handed a beer list. The (very nice and efficient) bartender then rattled off five or six more beers that were also available, some draft, some cask.

Folks, get a chalkboard.

[4bigreddogs]

Finally had dinner there Thursday night. We were hoping to add a new place to our go-to family dining list, but Mad Fox didn't make the cut. Go for the beers and maybe some bar food (frickles), but dinner was disappointing. Everything was over-sauced. The Cesar salad was swimming (not sure about roasted red pepper in a Cesar either), the BLT was dripping in pesto (bread thickness could be dialed back by half and bacon portion doubled) as were the potatoes served with the chicken. Little dog raved about the chicken fingers from a prior visit with friends, but declared them greasy this time around. He'll be back for the fun of the automatic bathrooms. We'll try again, visit the bar and focus on the beer.

[wendydb22]

I heard through the grapevine that MadFox hired a new chef. We went there for brunch on Sunday and the food was really great. My husband got the tender Pork Belly Eggs Benedict and I had a Mediteranian Omelet (peppers, olives, goat cheese). I thought both were well executed. I'm looking forward to returning for dinner to try out more items with this new chef behind the helm.

They also have a great beer on tap this week called the Molotov Hoptail! Just the right amount of citrus notes and very smooth.

[DrXmus]

Yeah, the new chef is definitely a step in the right direction for making Mad Fox a destination for beer AND food. I didn't know the Hoptail was on draft. I may have to plan a dinner there this week. Mmmm...hops.

[DonRocks]

Yeah, the new chef is definitely a step in the right direction for making Mad Fox a destination for beer AND food. I didn't know the Hoptail was on draft. I may have to plan a dinner there this week. Mmmm...hops.

You can perhaps infer from this that Andrew Dixon was sous chef at Michel.

[DrXmus]

You can perhaps infer from this that Andrew Dixon was sous chef at Michel.

I never like to assume anything. I don't do inferences. I wish you had facts to back up your argument.

Seriously, thanks for linking to the press release. I couldn't remember Andrew's name and I don't remember seeing his CV. Cool stuff.

[MattRocks]

We had heard about the new chef here so we decided to give it a try. I started with a house brewed root beer, while my dad had just a plain old beer. The parental figured it would be a good idea to start with the buffalo wings (Yes!) and the lemon hummus (No!). The buffalo wings were pretty good being crispy with a decent amount of spice, but $12? For 7 wings? The hummus was alright but nothing special.

For the entrees my dad (once again) thought it would be good to order "the veg" sandwich with a side of gazpacho, and a vegetarian wellington. Honestly, they both felt like the kitchen had, in a half hearted effort to feed vegetarians, thrown together every vegetable in the kitchen, and served it on some bread, or (for a $7 up charge) with crispy phyllo. Both needed salt. And/or bacon. 'Nuff said.

While the service was less then desirable (we had to ask for silverware when the apps came and for a spoon when the entrees came), and the food was mediocre, I feel as though there was one main force that causd the downfall of this meal: my dad decided to order this crap at a brew pub.

[DonRocks]

Hi I'm Matt Rockwell, Don Rockwell's son. My dad and I went to Colorado kitchen this morning and it was the best breakfast I had in a decade (and I'm only ten years old). I usually like my eggs with a lot of cheese and ketchup but these eggs had none of that and they were the best eggs I had ever had (and believe me I have had a lot of eggs in my life). The waffle my dad had was very good except it was hot when it came out and it got cold in five minutes. I like my food to be warm through out the whole meal. I am very picky about my bacon, but one of the three slices was fatty, one was crispy, and one was that "melt in your mouth" kind. You don't find the "melt in your mouth" kind that much any more. It was good to find out about another place that has that kind. The hash browns were some of the best I had ever had (they also stayed warm throughout the whole meal, and that's rare)! The doughnuts, yes I said doughnuts were warm and sweet. There was a powdered one, a nut and honey one, and, my favorite a chocolate glazed one. I would rather have one of those then fifty Dunkin Doughnuts ones, and the ones at Dunkin Doughnuts are bigger. The orange juice was good this time I had it and it was kind of bitter last time I had it. I guess it was a bad day last time I had it. The service there is excellent! Every time I go there everybody is very nice! It is also very efficient and it takes very little time to get your food. That is what I admire in a restaurant. Over all it was a very good breakfast!

We had heard about the new chef here so we decided to give it a try. I started with a house brewed root beer, while my dad had just a plain old beer. The parental figured it would be a good idea to start with the buffalo wings (Yes!) and the lemon hummus (No!). The buffalo wings were pretty good being crispy with a decent amount of spice, but $12? For 7 wings? The hummus was alright but nothing special.

For the entrees my dad (once again) thought it would be good to order "the veg" sandwich with a side of gazpacho, and a vegetarian wellington. Honestly, they both felt like the kitchen had, in a half hearted effort to feed vegetarians, thrown together every vegetable in the kitchen, and served it on some bread, or (for a $7 up charge) with crispy phyllo. Both needed salt. And/or bacon. 'Nuff said.

While the service was less then desirable (we had to ask for silverware when the apps came and for a spoon when the entrees came), and the food was mediocre, I feel as though there was one main force that causd the downfall of this meal: my dad decided to order this crap at a brew pub.

My, my how we've become jaded between the ages of 10 and 15.

Matt comes running in from dinner last night and says, "I'm going to embarrass you in front of your members for ordering like that!"

Mad Fox probably did between 500-1000 covers yesterday - they were *amazingly* busy at 8:15 last night. The food we ordered was fully priced and then some.

I like the beers here (although I'm cursing myself for not ordering from the pump), and I'll try and stick to more pub fare in the future. I'll happily come back and go deeper into their remarkably broad beer list, but with Orso right down the street, it's going to be difficult to commit to a full meal.

Matt had a bagel for breakfast yesterday morning in Greensboro, and biscuit sandwiches at Biscuitville in Danville for lunch - he was going to have a vegetable-heavy dinner last night whether he wanted to or not!

One thing I'd advise management is to encourage the servers not to return the credit cards beneath the merchant's receipt - for the first time in a long time, I almost left the restaurant without my credit card because I didn't see it. Matt was right about the service - it was, at best, addled. I mean, people weren't unpleasant or anything; just ... not very engaged. At one point, I looked over by the entrance and saw one of the male servers doing a pelvic thrust (was probably just joking around with another server).

The root beer was great! $3.50 (with refills) and worth it.

Not trying to sound like an old fart, but with the two positive posts above, and a new pedigreed chef at the helm, I guess I was expecting a bit more, and I had *no* idea the place would be this slammed. I know there's a media dinner coming up, and I would highly advise the media to come here when it's crowded, on their own dime, before raving about the great meal they had.

"Go back and order the brisket sandwich," Matt told me, "and I'll bet you enjoy it." (I actually thought The Veg sandwich was perfectly fine, and if we had ordered the brisket sandwich alongside it, instead of the Vegetable Wellington, everything would have been in balance.)

If I hadn't tweeted a couple days ago, and if Matt hadn't decided to torment his dad, I wouldn't even mention last night. This is not a trashing; it's a hedge (and I'm not going to tweet this). If Mad Fox was this busy on a Thursday night, they're obviously making a lot of people very happy.

Oh, and Matt, how did your knitting competition go this morning?

[DrXmus]

Say "hi" next time. Actually, I think we were gone before then, but, yes, it can get crazy-busy at Mad Fox. Next time, try the fried calamari/shrimp app. They're cornmeal-crusted, perfectly seasoned and expertly cooked. No rubber bands in the batch (n=2). The beer can chicken would've made Matt happy, I think. Mad Fox is very good at having a couple of specials for lunch and dinner and the pictures always look great on their Facebook posts. Agreed the servers can be hit or miss, but overall, they do a good job considering the number of tables that get turned. I had a glass from the "Crazy Cask", which was the Wee Heavy (an excellent beer on its own) aged with vanilla, peppercorns and other stuff I can't remember. It would've been an excellent dessert beer, but I really wanted a glass of the Molotov Hoptail, one of my faves, so that became my dessert beer.

[DPop]

I went yesterday for brunch with the wife and share the younger Rockwell's sentiments. I'm not sure what was wrong with our waiter, a really nice young kid but he was totally out of it. Would disappear for 10-15 minutes at a time (restaurant was 1/4 full) and just did not seem to be all there. However, he was helpful when my wife sent back her Vegetable Breakfast Pizza, which unfortunately came devoid of the promised scrambled eggs and with an unwelcome addition of grilled pineapple. Pineapple is an abomination on pizza unless counterbalanced by something salty like ham IMO, and you will find no such thing on a veggie style pizza. It was replaced with an entirely mediocre and dry Buffalo Chicken Pizza which was brought home and will probably sit in the fridge for a few days before being tossed out due to lack of interest. My Truffled Mac & Cheese Pizza was a good bit better but at the end of the meal I realized I had myself to blame, as I have been here many a time and never enjoyed the pizza. The crust is always both lacking crunch, even a bit tough to chew, and the toppings are never of a particularly high quality. The pizzas are also a good size but should not be in the $16-20 range for a small. They are just not delivering at that price point.

The beer continues to be the star here and unless the new chef is just getting warmed up and better food is to come, I think I'll only come for that and the occasional bar snack in the future.

[DonRocks]

I know there's a media dinner coming up, and I would highly advise the media to come here when it's crowded, on their own dime, before raving about the great meal they had.

And now you know why I'll never be popular, famous, or even well-liked.

Oh well. Maybe one day, 500 years from now, I'll be respected. Or ... maybe not <shoulder shrug>.

[Destruya]

Ate here tonight - they've got a 20% "sequestration" special for anyone who shows their government ID.  Not too bad, save for the 'donut' dessert being kinda underwhelming, yet share-friendly.

[DrXmus]

Celebrated IPA day there tonight. The fried chicken dinner (three piece - airline breast, leg and piece of breast) with sweet potato salad (meh), haricots vert with bacon and mushrooms (good) and cheddar biscuit (very good) is on the menu all week, rather than just a Monday special. The crust is fantastic and the meat is tender and juicy. I think i picked up some lemon in the brine, but I wish the meat were better seasoned. Maybe the brine was a little salt-deficient. I had the lamb bulgogi with kimchi slaw, cilantro and cucumbers. I'm glad I tried it, but I wouldn't get it again. It had a great spicy bite to it and a heavy grill flavor, but the tortilla seemed a little big for the innards. The beers were excellent, as usual. Our server, Bo, was over the top great. He was knowledgeable, friendly and efficient. I can't knock him for a single thing during the meal. He even handled my American Homebrewers Association discount card with ease; usually I have to explain what gets discounted.

[darkstar965]

Met a group of friends here tonight for what was my first visit.  Hadn't read this thread prior but maybe better that way so no preconceived notions.

All in, everyone enjoyed their beers, food was just okay across the board and service was adequate and notable at different times.

FOOD

Caesar Salad:  Very ordinary.  Basic greens (not sure it was Romaine but might have been as it was chopped up).  Looked like pre-cut packaged parmesan.  Etc.

Wings:  A bit dry but fine.

Fried calamari and shrimp:  Liked the inclusion of shrimp in this otherwise-tired dish offered at most any bar/pub.

Mussels & frites:  friend who ordered this really enjoyed the mussels but not clear he'd been to Brabo, Blacksalt, etc.  Fries weren't crisp.

Pork quesadilla dish:  also ordered by a friend who ate half of it and didn't bring the rest home.  Looked to be pretty ordinary bar food.

Hangar steak w/ mac&cheese ($2 upcharge) and broccoli rabe:  Nothing particularly stood out but a perfectly adequate dish.

SERVICE

For the most part, we didn't notice it and didn't want for anything.  That's partly due to an active conversation at the table but also due to the service being good and taking care of whatever needs.  A manager stopped by shortly before mains came out to announce that he'd noticed the hangar, ordered medium, looked too done and, while he would allow that to come out, he also was having another order fired at the right temp.  Appreciated that.

BOTTOM LINE

Pricing all very fair with value on food one might expect at a somewhat gentrified brewpub.  Beer pricing seemed very good given the high quality of the brews.  I'm guessing this place is much appreciated in Falls Church which is probably its main market.  Less clear it makes sense to travel from the city or MD though.

[DaveO]

Stopped by there the other day for a working lunch.   Too bad we were working....the beers must be the hit and the bar menu looks encouraging.

We ended up ordering two burgers...and though didn't share them we both enjoyed them, I having the burger w/ the bacon jam which was quite tasty.

In light of the main focus of this place...its the last time I'll go there for a "working meeting".   The various beers look way too inviting...but frankly the burgers were quite good.

[Kev29]

They're expanding into the District...

Mad Fox Brewing Company Opening Taproom in Glover Park

[durwoodx]

This place should be getting a bit of a culinary facelift, as Chef Brian Wilson has reportedly left Montmartre and taken over the kitchen here. I have always been a bit iffy on their beer (I am an unabashed beer snob/geek) but this may push me over the top to actually try a return visit at some point in the near future.

[DonRocks]

"Wilson Rises To The Challenge As New Mad Fox Chef" by Jody Fellows on fcnp.com

[Destruya]

He's certainly simplified the menu (even more), and their Hanger Steak Frites is seven bucks cheaper than what Jackson's wants in Reston for the *exact* same entree (at least in terms of description).

[DonRocks]

He's certainly simplified the menu (even more), and their Hanger Steak Frites is seven bucks cheaper than what Jackson's wants in Reston for the *exact* same entree (at least in terms of description).

I'd be much more excited if they weren't opening a second location - I suspect Brian will become "Executive Chef." Darn it, he left Montmartre just after I went there *twice* in about two weeks, just to verify that they had the best steak tartare on Capitol Hill (which they did; now, I have no idea).

[mnnchas]

Although Glover Park is not exactly easy to get to from the Maryland burbs, it is better than Falls Church.  I have really enjoyed Mad Fox the few times I have been to their Falls Church location; nothing mind blowing but good, solid food in a good atmosphere that works for our child enabled crew.

I definitely recommend The Maneuver IPA.  A perfect happy hour pairing with their pretzel app.

[DonRocks]

"Mad Fox's New Chef Promises Return Of Epic Burgers" by Jody on burgerdays.com

What happened with Brian Wilson?

Brian going to Mad Fox seemed like a terrible choice for both the restaurant, and for him, but I didn't know he was leaving until now. (I personally think Brian is too refined a cook to make the compromises he undoubtedly had to make.)

The new chef Travis Weiss was previously the Executive Chef at Ted's Bulletin on Capitol Hill.

[cheezepowder]

Opening in Glover Park at 2218 Wisconsin Ave, NW, DC on Aug. 17 (via Washington Post).

[DonRocks]

Mad Fox is closing on July 21st. Here is Bill Madden's announcement:

July 9, 2019

Friends, Patrons and Supporters,

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I inform you of the closure of Mad Fox Brewing Company. Our last day of business will be Sunday, July 21st.

The decision to close has been an extremely difficult one to make. We have witnessed restaurant competition in the 2.2 square mile Falls Church City become fierce since our opening in 2010 with multiple businesses opening in the last year alone. As much as we tried to compete, there are an overwhelming number of choices for the local population. Sales have been on a slow decline over the last several years and, unfortunately, staying open is no longer sustainable.

On the brewing side of our business we continue to see more breweries opening in Virginia with two new Taprooms setting up shop within a mile of Mad Fox in the last year. When we opened in 2010, there were 40 breweries in Virginia. Now there are close to 250. The Brewpub business model is a tough one to maintain compared to a Brewery Taproom with little overhead, lower rents and outsourced food trucks. Our draw from the surrounding areas has dwindled in what has become an extremely competitive craft beer market, which has resulted in this final decision.

We attempted to work with our Bank and our Landlord for more favorable terms and while both were willing, we ultimately could not come to agreement that would allow Mad Fox to be break even or better.

We plan a closure date of Sunday, July 21st; however, we plan to continue with our 9 year Anniversary Party on Saturday, 13 July to honor you, our investors, our staff and the Falls Church Community. Words cannot express how proud I am of the Mad Fox legacy and the opportunity to be a member of such a wonderful community, if even for a short while. We opened the first brewpub in the City of Falls Church and have won numerous medals at the Great American Beer Festival as well as the Virginia Beer Cup. We have celebrated christenings, birthdays, weddings, retirements and many holiday gatherings. You, our guests, along with our spectacular Mad Fox team have enabled us to build tremendous notoriety over 9 years in business. I thank you for allowing Mad Fox to be a part of your lives. Thank you for your years of support and I hope to see you at the Pub in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,

Bill Madden
CEO and Executive Brewer, Mad Fox Brewing Company

 

[DaveO]

Competition with ever rising rental rates, plus ever rising other costs must be the bane of restaurants everywhere.  I've been to Mad Fox several times over the 9 years since they have opened.  Not enough to get a sense of diminishing traffic over the years, though of recent they seemed to be doing fine--(but I'm not the one doing the books).  Clearly there has been an increasing number of breweries in Northern Va, plus additional restaurants in Falls Church.  OTOH there have been a growing number of "high rises" in Falls Church. 

Geez, I have to think the glorious spacious Harris Teeter just 4 blocks down the road with a wine and beer bar, and an ample eat in section hits the competitive landscape as much as any restaurant in the area.

[Kibbee Nayee]

Slightly off topic, I remember in the 1980s when I had the occasional trip to Europe, and I marveled at how wonderful the local brews were. But back home, we had precious few places we could go for good beer. There was a brewpub in Charlottesville, and then the Capitol Brewery downtown near the Greyhound station, and a tap room like Union Street Public House in Alexandria....but I recall researching what it would take to start a brewpub and I recall that the ordinances at the time made the concept prohibitive. Now they're everywhere. What happened when I wasn't paying attention?

[TedE]

Really sad to see this.  Bill Madden is a local brewing hero.  Some kudos from around the industry on DCBeer

I'm guessing the short-lived Glover Park ale house put them in a pretty big hole.  He is absolutely correct about the state of brewpubs vs. tasting rooms.  You can make more money on less overhead pouring pints and filling growlers out of a warehouse and letting Insta-influencers give you free marketing.  It's great to see growth and diversity on the local scene, it just sucks that it came at the expense of one of the pioneers that helped make it possible.

I'll miss Mad Fox at Nats park, they always had something great on tap at the District Drafts stands that was perfect for a hot summer day.

[DaveO]

Bill Madden adds some perspective...

[MsDiPesto]

On 7/10/2019 at 10:28 AM, Kibbee Nayee said:

Slightly off topic, I remember in the 1980s when I had the occasional trip to Europe, and I marveled at how wonderful the local brews were. But back home, we had precious few places we could go for good beer. There was a brewpub in Charlottesville, and then the Capitol Brewery downtown near the Greyhound station, and a tap room like Union Street Public House in Alexandria....but I recall researching what it would take to start a brewpub and I recall that the ordinances at the time made the concept prohibitive. Now they're everywhere. What happened when I wasn't paying attention?

Mad Fox faced unique challenges nearly from the start. “When we opened the only way to sell a pint of beer to a consumer on site was to have a food component in Virginia,” Madden said. “That changed in 2012 with SB 604,” the law allowing brewery taprooms to serve full pours on-site.

[kgottwald]

Is there anyplace left in Northern VA that has cask ale?

[dcs]

7 hours ago, kgottwald said:

Is there anyplace left in Northern VA that has cask ale?

Heavy Seas in Rosslyn may still have it.  I haven't been in years, though.  That situation may have changed.

[alexandria1]

Rustico in Alexandria often has a cask or two.

[SwillBilly]

Fairwinds always has something on cask.

[Pizzaandbrew]

Evening Star has cask ale.