EVO Keeps Crafting Success
On an afternoon in mid-November 2020, when the weather report says it would be in the mid-50s during dinner hour, a friend and I had reached the breaking point. We felt so cooped up that we met at the only place we could think of that still might seat us outside: Evolution Craft Brewing Company Public House and Tap Room – better known collectively as “EVO” as with its beers – in Salisbury, MD.
We sat in our jackets and gloves under a pole heater and lap blankets, sipping hot toddies and munching EVO’s signature Brussels sprouts. People – even our waiter – looked at us as if we were nuts, but I can tell you, we did not care; we were so happy.
EVO had opened a new Beer Garden outside the Public House in mid-summer 2020. The gathering place is just one of the most recent examples of brothers Tom and John Knorr’s creativity, which has helped them build a regional empire of restaurants, an iconic brewery, and a name brand. As the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic became clearer, they knew they had to act fast to protect customers, staff and the long-term viability of the company.
“We could see COVID-19 coming down the road in early March and we didn’t want to get caught,” says Tom. “My brother John was driving that train. He is the analytical one and he had it all figured out in a couple of days; what we could do and how we could handle it.”
Within an hour of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s lockdown announcement, the Knorrs closed seven of their eight restaurants and laid off nearly all their hourly workers, the bulk of their then 300-person team. “It was crushing but it was the only way,” says Tom Knorr. Only the Public House stayed open for take-out and many managers worked seven days a week.
Tom Knorr recalled, “It was brutal; we knew we had to do something (to survive this). We had this plan for a Beer Garden – it had already been approved by the City of Salisbury - and we saw it was the perfect opportunity to create it. We called the Mayor and asked for a few tweaks (such as using gravel instead of pavers) and rallied the troops.”
City Administrator Julia Glanz recalls the upheaval of those early days on local business. “We knew that if we wanted our restaurants to survive, we had to fast-track permitting and get those outside dining areas open as soon as possible (so we added) a permit application page to the website and set a 24-hour maximum time for review and approval.”
Glanz adds, “EVO is one of Salisbury's busiest and most well-known establishments; they stood as good a chance as any restaurant or bar in town at weathering the pandemic. Still, the Knorrs realize the importance of being adaptable, and they have done a tremendous job in keeping the lights on, the doors open, and the customers safe and happy.”
In one weekend, the EVO management team built 20 eight-foot picnic tables and benches in an assembly line on the loading dock. Then the brothers rented a mini-excavator and dug the gas lines for the fire pits. The team laid out truckloads of gravel, and strung lights across the garden. “We were literally hanging the speaker system as people were walking in on the day we re-opened,” says Knorr.
The project took less than four weeks. “It saved us; we had enough cash to pay people and get back open,” he added.
How “Can” We Do This?
Brewer Vince Dalfonzo (above, left) thinks back to the start of the pandemic, his first memory: no cans. He’d been at EVO three years, having moved home to Maryland after working for a brewery in Oregon. “There came this point where we couldn’t get cans for beer,” he says. “And the keg business was dead, what with the closing of all the restaurants.”
It took time to find equilibrium, but eventually between bottling and a later influx of cans, the brewery team of 15 made it work.
Dalfonzo oversees the production of 16-20 beers at any given time. While 75% of their production is directed toward IPAs – particularly their Lot 3 brand which is available in seven states (Delaware, Eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and West Virginia) – his team always has nine or ten of what he calls “mainline” brands (such as Lot 6, Pine’Hop-le IPA, and Blurred Vines) plus five or six seasonal beers in production – think Jacques au Lantern Pumpkin Ale, out in the fall, and Rise Up Coffee Stout using local coffee.
Then there are the smaller development batches which serve several purposes. “We get to be creative and try new things,” says Dalfonzo, “and we also give our regulars incentive to come to the Tap Room, which serves as a kind of perpetual focus group to try new things.”
If you don’t know the story of how the brewery came to be in Salisbury with a tap room, restaurant, and brewery featuring more than two dozen vats, the brothers credit the region for embracing EVO beverage brands from the get-go.
Back in 2011, the Knorrs had established their first brewery in Delmar, Delaware, about five miles up Route 13 from the current location. As their distribution grew, they really needed to expand.
“Our building looked as if it was lived in by highly organized hoarders,” remembers Tom Knorr. “Cases and supplies were stacked in high rows and we walked through the facility very carefully. It couldn’t go on like that; there was no way to expand.”
They looked at a lot of places, but one really caught their imagination, an old icehouse in Salisbury.
“It had well water on site, which was perfect because water is one of the most important factors in brewing beer,” says Tom. And because it had been an icehouse, “zero (initial) filtration was needed.” It had more than 25,000 square feet with high ceilings. The hoarding was over.
One of the aspects of the brewery that Dalfonzo appreciates most is the quality control. There is a lab on site where he and his team test for safety and tinker with flavors. He pointed out that the process of brewing great beer is highly analytical, especially because they must meet slightly differing standards in each of the states in which they sell their products. Each tank requires careful monitoring and maintenance.
Dalfonzo talks with excitement about the newest beer to come to market, the Wild Tang Blood Orange Session Stout which began as a development batch based on some of the ideas for using fruit he’d had since working in Oregon. Tom Knorr had posed the idea of doing something a little different, using less sweet Italian tarocco oranges rather than the clementines often used by others.
“We thought it might allow the brew to blend well and that the taste would complement the food,” says Dalfonzo. “It’s the perfect summer beer for the beach.”
This summer the team is introducing Day Trader Lo-Cal IPA, initially only available at the Public House. “We want to tap into the shift to lighter beers with fewer calories, but taste like craft with a ton of flavor,” Dalfonzo says. The goal is to launch it into retail as soon as the can shortage resolves.
They are also bringing forth a beverage in a new category: plain hard seltzer, launching this spring at the Public House.
Tom Knorr adds, “It only made sense to bring a seltzer to market; people ask for it all day long and we should serve one that we develop.” He expects it will be particularly popular in the spring and summer in crushes, mojitos and margaritas. Currently it is being infused with mango and papaya, although they expect flavor option will change through the season.
As we toured the bottling area Dalfonzo comments, “You know, wine has the perception of pairing best with food, but many beers (and by extension, seltzer) pair extremely well. For instance, wheat beer holds up well for spicy food. The pairing can enhance the joy of both.”
He adds that beer can be well-paired with cheese. “Beer doesn’t have the acidity of wine and can often bring forth the taste as well or better. And you have the added benefit that the CO2 can clear the palette.”
He’s particularly fond of matching Lot 3 IPA with a two-year aged English cheddar and says the new Blood Orange is great with spicy wings or shellfish because the fruit off sets and cools the taste.
Becoming Salisbury’s Busiest Restaurant
Tom Knorr related that “unofficially,” when the Public House opened, it became “the busiest restaurant in Salisbury.” One of the reasons, of course, is the food.
“This is John’s passion,” says Tom Knorr. “While he was at Washington College, he began working at Phillips Harborplace, which at that time was the third busiest restaurant in the region.” Today, in addition to working with Tom on their brands and overseeing the food at the restaurants, John is a Senior Vice President at Phillips Foods and Seafood Restaurants.
The Public House kitchens are run by Chef Bouthia (above, second from left) who joined EVO in 2014 from New York City. There, he trained under Michelin Star Chef Daniel Boulud at DC Bistro Moderne, starting as a dishwasher in 2009 and with great passion quickly moved from the sink to chef de partie (station cook) to sous chef (second in command of the kitchen) by 2012.
Bouthia (pronounced “BON-cha”)came to the United States from Mali in West Africa. He used to travel to America with his family on vacation and moved here immediately after high school. He speaks four languages – Bombora, Conocan, English and French – and is “working on” a fifth, Spanish. He’s worked hard to craft a kitchen team of 15 that “work very well together. We’re very tight – we spend more time together than with our families” and the care shows in every plate.
Today he and his team apply much of what he learned from Boulud at EVO. “I try to run the restaurant as if it was fine dining in the sense that we give every dish a lot of care,” says Bouthia. “We use everything as fresh as possible – produce, seafood, meats – and we use our beers quite a lot in our recipes.” One of his favorites – using Primal beer in the wing sauce. “People love it.”
Menus change seasonally and Bouthia speculates that the shift to lighter fare will include “likely a gazpacho, lots of salads, including our popular Cobb which uses local produce – especially the corn – and lighter entrees with our smoked brisket and pork.”
Signature dishes like Brussels Two Ways, the Lump Crab Cake Sandwich and Primal Chicken, as well as Homemade Key Lime Pie (part of a strong selection of desserts) tempt a variety of palates.
I Scream, You Scream, but Does a Rooster Scream?
When asked what is coming next, Tom Knorr broke out in a big smile. “We have been marching to our own beat for a long time, and while we do look to see what others are doing, we try to take a global approach and be creative; take a play on something that is not someone else’s.”
To that end, the brothers who brew craft beer and create craft food will launch their next initiative this summer: craft ice cream branded Rooster Scream Ice Cream.
“You can see it, right? Chickens, roosters?” laughs Knorr. “This seemed perfect for Delmarva. We bought a shuttered restaurant in Bethesda near another one of ours (Birroteca in Baltimore), and we will start small with vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. These will be high quality, full fat ice creams, and we will also have vegan versions.”
Initially they will sell the ice cream in their restaurants and pints from the EVO Brew Pub. When asked if they might get their own truck, Knorr laughs and says, “one thing at a time,” which, if you think about it, for two guys who do so many things, must seem like slow motion.
The Knorrs have more plans at the Public House in time for the coming summer. They will install a cover for the restaurant patio and build a stage in the Beer Garden for outdoor music. They have been able to bring back 200+ employees and hope to have everyone back who wants to be in the coming months.
“We reinvent ourselves all the time, and integrate what we perceive to be success, not measured by others,” says Tom Knorr. “We don’t want to become so big and corporate that we start talking like big business guys. We take care of our own backyard because we love that people make our places their places to go.”
WHEN YOU GO
Check in for hours before heading out; some dining restrictions and seasonal hours may be in place at some locations.
Evolution Craft Brewing Public House
201 East Vine Street, Salisbury
(443) 260-2337
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Boonies
21438 Nanticoke Road, Tyaskin
(410) 873-2244
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The Red Roost
2670 Clara Road, Quantico
(410) 546-5443
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Birroteca
1520 Clipper Road, Baltimore
(443) 759-5178
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1226 Baltimore Pike, Bel Air
(443) 981-3141
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SoBo’s Wine Bistro
1015 Eastern Shore Drive, Salisbury
(410) 219-1117
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