Where is the beer at Fullsteam's new American Tobacco Campus taproom actually made? Not in Durham. Fullsteam is Durham's oldest craft brewery, and its new home in the old Power Plant Building has no brewing equipment at all. The News & Observer reported that Fullsteam now brews all of its beer at a facility in Rocky Mount and contract brews the rest at NoDa in Charlotte.
In Durham's beer scene in 2026, that choice follows a pattern. Over the past year, the local beer makers still standing have separated two things that used to share one building: making beer, and having a place for people to drink it. Fullsteam took that split further than anyone and built its taproom for food, shows and private events.
The Rigsbee Building Was Doing Too Many Jobs
Fullsteam announced in 2024 that it was leaving 726 Rigsbee Avenue, and the reasons it gave explain the new space. In its own relocation note, it listed production and distribution growth that had outgrown the building, a proposed rent increase it called unsustainable, and problems with HVAC, parking, the kitchen, private-party space and outdoor seating. WRAL reported at the time that the public taproom would close on Halloween, and the Rigsbee space would then be used only for production.
Most of the items on that list are about how the building worked for guests, and the new location answers almost every one. The kitchen is new and built for real food service, there is indoor and outdoor seating, and there are rooms for private events. American Tobacco Campus says the buildout took nearly two years from the Rigsbee closure. The brewing moved to Rocky Mount Mills, where Fullsteam runs a 10-barrel innovation brewery for its small-batch and seasonal beers.
Founder Sean Lilly Wilson called it the brewery's "Durham Forever Home" in the campus announcement. He told the News & Observer that he wanted "an only-in-Durham type place," adding, "We're in a challenging period for independent restaurants and breweries, I think we're competing against Anytown USA."
A Hard Stretch for Durham Taprooms
Wilson was describing what the rest of the city had already been through. In the months before Fullsteam opened, several Durham taprooms closed or changed shape:
| Brewery | What changed | When |
|---|---|---|
| Bull City Solera and Taproom, University Drive | Closed after five and a half years; owner Seth Gross said he hoped to reopen with a new concept | Announced Jan. 26, 2026 |
| Flying Bull Beer Company, Ninth Street | Closed its taproom and coffee shop to focus on its Morris Street brewery and restaurant | Feb. 26, 2026 |
| Proximity Brewing, 491 S. Driver St. | Closed its East Durham taproom, citing high operating costs | March 26, 2026 |
| Durty Bull Brewing | Announced it would close its Durham doors at the end of September, after about a decade | Announced July 2026 |
When Proximity closed its taproom, it told the News & Observer it would keep brewing for wholesale partners. INDY Week later reported that Proximity had ceased operations in April.
The owners gave reasons that line up with Fullsteam's. Durty Bull owner Matt Pennisi told INDY Week that "our rent has risen exponentially." Flying Bull co-owner Joel Miles said, "We left Ninth Street because the landlord wanted a 6% increase on rent," and described the space as $6,000 a month for 1,000 square feet, "an old place we revamped ourselves." In the same INDY piece, Miles said grain cost around 62 cents a pound a few years ago and had passed $1 a pound in 2026.
The numbers are no better statewide. The NC Craft Brewers Guild reported in February 2026 that brewery closures in North Carolina have outnumbered openings since 2024. Twenty-one breweries closed in 2025, after 28 in 2024 and 23 in 2023, and overall North Carolina beer sales fell 9.7% from 2021 to 2025. Nationally, the Brewers Association counted 481 craft brewery closures and 300 openings in 2025, and craft production fell 4% that year.
Flying Bull's owners summed up the change in one line when they left Ninth Street. "The beer's not going anywhere," they told the News & Observer. Only the address was changing. Fullsteam is the same idea at a bigger scale. The beer is made elsewhere, and the Durham address is now a place to eat, drink and meet people.
What the Power Plant Is Built For
A brewery taproom used to be a production floor with stools. The new Fullsteam runs more like a public house with several rooms. American Tobacco Campus describes about 9,000 square feet between the water tower and the Lucky Strike smokestack, at 320 Blackwell Street, Suite 101. Here's how the space breaks down:
- The Public House. Fullsteam describes it as serving Southern bar food along with beer, cider, wine and non-alcoholic drinks.
- The kitchen. Chef and baker Phoebe Lawless runs it as Fullsteam's Director of Food, Beverage & Hospitality. The current menu includes a Crystal Coast shrimp burger with dijonnaise and spicy chow chow, a Pub House Burger with Ashe County cheddar and Stoker Sauce, a collard melt, seasonal pickles and chicken-liver pâté.
- The Fullsteam Theater. This 100-seat room is used for private rentals and community programming, and Fullsteam's FAQ lists screenings, live performances, readings and sports as possibilities.
- Stoker Club and Lucky's Den and Patio. Both are private-event spaces, and Fullsteam offers catering and dedicated servers in Lucky's Den.
Lawless told the News & Observer that "Fullsteam definitely has a Southern sensibility with the scope and style of its beers," and that Wilson "has big ideas about creating a space with food that reflects the same mission and spirit it always has." The campus announcement notes that Wilson and Lawless have nine James Beard Award semifinalist nods between them.
The decor is pure Durham. The old boiler room machinery is still there, held together by bolts the size of your palm. There's also a wall of pinball machines, a retro lounge, jars of toasted North Carolina malt, dirt-worn baseballs, and a giant hamburger head hanging from the ceiling that Wilson calls "Officer Big Mac."
As of mid-October, Fullsteam's visit page lists bar hours of noon to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday. The kitchen serves daily from 4 to 9 p.m. The same page says the kitchen is still "gearing up," so check before planning a lunch around it.
November on the Calendar
So far, the events are the kind that reward coming back every week. Fullsteam's November calendar lists:
- Astronomy on Tap, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7 to 9:30 p.m., in the theater. The series is free and includes astronomy talks, trivia and audience interaction.
- Trivia with Arturo, Thursdays Nov. 5, 12, 19 and 26, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., in the Public House.
The campus says the indoor and outdoor seating was planned for people heading to a DPAC show or coming from a Durham Bulls game, so Fullsteam also works as a stop before or after another night out.
The Beer Itself, and Why Lagers Matter Here
Not brewing on site would be a bigger change if Fullsteam's beer depended on being fresh off a tank in the next room. Wilson's description of the market suggests it doesn't. He told the News & Observer that he sees drinkers moving away from double IPAs and imperial stouts toward classic styles, especially lagers. "I call it returning to Earth," he said. "When we first opened, half of our beers were lagers."
The farm-sourcing that has always set Fullsteam apart moved with the brewing. The campus announcement says its "Plow to Pint" mission has sent more than $1 million to Southern farms and food producers, and many of the beers poured at ATC come from the small-batch facility at Rocky Mount Mills. Fullsteam's own page says that work supports local farmers, foragers and agriculture-based small businesses.
The Neighbors Across the Courtyard
Fullsteam joins a group of North Carolina-based places that have opened at American Tobacco Campus in recent years. The campus names Boricua Soul, Parker & Otis, Press, Queenburger, Seraphine, The Waiting Room, Ment Beverage Co., Lutra Café & Bakery and East of Texas. East of Texas, in the Reed Building near the Lucky Strike water tower, serves Central Texas-style smoked meats alongside scratch-made Tex-Mex. It's the second North Carolina location for founder Claire Calvin, after Winston-Salem.
Taken together, these openings show a downtown that still supports independent food and drink, as long as the businesses are set up for today's costs. Fullsteam moved its brewing to Rocky Mount and Charlotte and filled the Durham building with a kitchen, weekly trivia, a theater and rooms for private events.
Moves like Fullsteam's show how downtown Durham is changing, and following them is part of how Tana helps clients understand a neighborhood beyond the listing. If you'd like to talk through what's opening and closing around American Tobacco Campus, or anywhere else in Durham, Tana Widdows is glad to share what she's seeing. Let's Connect.
