Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
Richmond's Community-Centered Craft Brewery
The Venue
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery has established itself as a cornerstone of Richmond's craft beer scene and community gathering spaces. The Richmond location on Ownby Lane features indoor brewing facilities, tasting room, and a deck that serves as a beloved outdoor performance and gathering space. The West Creek location provides additional capacity and suburban accessibility.
The brewery's commitment extends beyond producing excellent craft beer to creating genuine community connections through events, music, food, and shared experiences. Their consistent support of cultural programming—from 10+ year old-time jams to Richmond Symphony performances—demonstrates that Hardywood understands breweries can serve as vital third spaces where culture happens.
What They Offer Patrons
Beer: Extensive selection of craft beers brewed on-site, rotating seasonals, and flagship favorites. The tap list showcases Hardywood's brewing expertise across styles from IPAs to stouts to experimental offerings.
Food: Hardywood Pizza Kitchen serves wood-fired pizzas, wings, and other brewery-appropriate fare. Tuesday through Sunday food service ensures patrons can make a meal of their visit.
Events: Incredibly diverse programming including:
- Weekly old-time jam (2nd & 4th Wednesdays)
- Tuesday trivia nights (High Five Trivia at 7 PM)
- Richmond Symphony performances ("Music at Hardywood" series)
- 804 Run Club every Wednesday (5:45 PM start)
- Saturday yoga classes
- Live music featuring local and regional bands
- Special events and private rentals
Atmosphere: The deck provides open-air gathering space perfect for music, socializing, and enjoying craft beer in good weather. Indoor spaces accommodate colder months and ticketed events. The industrial-yet-welcoming brewery aesthetic creates a relaxed vibe conducive to community building.
Hours (Richmond Location):
- Tuesday-Thursday: 2:00 PM - 9:00 PM
- Friday: 2:00 PM - 10:00 PM
- Saturday: 12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
- Sunday: 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
- Closed Mondays
What They Offer Musicians
RVA Old-Time Jam: The 10+ year running old-time jam on 2nd and 4th Wednesdays provides consistent, reliable gathering space for the Appalachian music community. No backline—bring your acoustic instruments (fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, bass).
Audience: The brewery attracts diverse crowds—craft beer enthusiasts, neighborhood regulars, families, and people specifically attending events. Music becomes a natural soundtrack to the brewery experience rather than fighting for attention against TVs or loud conversations.
Accessibility: Free events with no cover charges. Purchase beer and food if desired, but no minimums or pressure. The welcoming atmosphere ensures musicians of all levels feel comfortable participating in jams.
Community Support: Hardywood demonstrates commitment by hosting the same jam consistently for over a decade. This reliability allows musical communities to develop, grow, and maintain continuity.
Drink Discounts: Certain events (like Run Club) offer participant discounts, and the beer prices remain reasonable for a craft brewery, making it economical to spend an evening there.
Location: Good parking, accessible from throughout Richmond, located in a developing area near other businesses and residential neighborhoods.
Special Programming
The brewery has hosted Richmond Symphony chamber concerts as part of the "Music at Hardywood" series—bringing classical music to a casual, accessible setting with beer and pizza. This innovative approach to classical music presentation demonstrates Hardywood's understanding that great music deserves great beer (and vice versa).
The 804 Run Club every Wednesday and Saturday yoga classes show the brewery's commitment to health and community wellness alongside craft beer enjoyment.
The Hardywood Difference
Many breweries claim to be "community-focused," but Hardywood actually does the work. Hosting the same old-time jam for 10+ years, consistently programming free cultural events, partnering with Richmond Symphony, supporting Run Club and yoga—these aren't marketing gimmicks but genuine investments in Richmond's cultural ecosystem.
For musicians, Hardywood provides what's increasingly rare: reliable, consistent space where music happens organically as part of community gathering rather than being treated as mere entertainment content. The old-time jam thrives precisely because Hardywood understands that some things—like century-old musical traditions and the communities that sustain them—deserve support simply because they matter, not because they generate maximum profit per square foot.
Whether you're a fiddler looking for a tune circle, a beer enthusiast who appreciates live music, a runner seeking community, or simply someone who values businesses that actually invest in their communities, Hardywood offers a model of what craft breweries can be when they think beyond just brewing beer.