After nearly three years of developing a booming business in craft beer, cocktails, and Scandinavian cuisine on Brooks Street in Downtown Wake Forest, Norse Brewing Company is growing its footprint by launching a new location in Zebulon and planning an expansion of its flagship location.
Norse Longhouse is scheduled to open before Christmas at 120 N Arendell Avenue, Zebulon, in a 3,600-square-foot building constructed in 1913. And if all goes as expected, Norse owners have additional plans to increase the brewing company's current capacity in order to serve a potential third location.
Chris and Jenni Jorgensen, owners of Norse along with Brad and Lynn Wynn, moved to Wake Forest from Richmond, Va. in 2004.
"We want to create the same feel in Zebulon as we did here," Chris said at the Norse bar during a recent visit over delicious Danish-style hotdogs. This creation is just one of many excellent menu items, including Frikadeller (based on Jorgensen's grandmother's recipe) and Nordic mussels, the Viking burger, elk sausage and hunter's chili prepared by the busy and creative kitchen crew lead by Kyle Fletcher.
Originally from Denmark, Chris met Jenni in California at the age of 16, when he was a high school exchange student in 1989. After college, Chris went on to work in the engineering-based "process optimization" field, working for Boeing, GE, and Siemens before signing on with Thermo Fisher in Raleigh.
In February 2017, when Chris, Jenni, and their five children lived in the Heritage neighborhood, the couple was cooking out with their neighbors, Brad and Lynn. Brad had been working for years as Head Brewer and partner for Big Boss Brewing in Raleigh and Lynn was a manager at Whole Foods. And following a long night of conversation, plans were soon in motion to create Norse.
"The vision and faith the Jorgensens have in this place and us astounds me," said Lynn, the manager of Norse Brewing Company. "It truly is family run, and I'm so glad we're all still friends after all this time." Jenni’s twin sister Jeannie and their Brewpub Director Joe Gosselin are also part owners and a large aspect in the success.
Initially thinking they wanted to buy an established brewery with a revenue stream in place, the couples looked at 11 establishments for sale from Charlotte to Wilmington before finding former Italian restaurant La Foresta at 203 Brooks Street. After seeing it for the first time, Chris recalls Jenni's strong suggestion: "Do not lose this building." They made an offer in February 2019 and spent the next seven months working on applications and securing financing.
Upon purchase and taking possession in August 2019, it took a $2.5 million investment and over three months to remove, purchase, install, and design everything to aesthetic and functional specifications, complete with a healthy amount of Nordic touches, including numerous comfortable components crafted from wood, stone, and metal.
"We wanted to create a place that would become a destination," Jorgensen said. "As residents and business owners in this town, we've been part of that. We've brought people who might not have come if we hadn't been here. There's no place like this anywhere around."
Originally 3,500 square feet, the owners created an additional dining and production space below the main dining room, along with an outdoor beer garden, increasing the complete operating area to 8,500.
After opening in December 2019, just a few months before COVID, Jorgensen said corporate clients are returning and renting the downstairs space for private events.
With room for 25% more growth on Brooks Street, Jorgensen said his plans to expand further are contingent upon a few important factors. Namely, the creation of a social district in which customers can carry alcohol from one establishment to another, improving the appearance of certain lots on Brooks Street, and amending current ordinances. "If you want to make this a more vibrant downtown, you have to have more leeway," he said. "This is the time."
While Norse's current kitchen and brewing capacity can support the Zebulon location, it would need to expand in order to create a second Longhouse location. "We want to share this concept, and multiple communities are asking," Jorgensen said.
In terms of distribution, he favors kegs over cans, sharing some of Brad's and his crew's creations with other brew pubs to increase brand recognition.
"Norse greatly contributes to the community," says Jason Cannon, President of the Wake Forest Business and Industry Partnership. "They have done a great deal to create this operation and contribute considerably to bringing people into Downtown. I am confident they will see substantial success in Zebulon and look forward to walking alongside them through their expansion in Wake Forest."
Chris said Jenni refers to Norse's full complement of 54 staff members as her children. “This is our Norse family,” Jenni says. "We have a great team here, and we're having a lot of fun," Chris said. "We love Wake Forest; we raised our kids here and plan to live the rest of our lives here. This town is about to explode. Things take time, but they're moving in the right direction. We are proud and excited to be a part of that."
