BearWaters Brewing Company announces operational shift affecting two western North Carolina locations

BearWaters Brewing Company announced an operational shift on Feb. 26, 2026 that will affect both of its western North Carolina customer-facing sites: the Canton riverside taproom and the Maggie Valley bistro location. The locally owned and operated brewery has built a regional reputation with several award-winning beers, and the change touches the two venues where the brand’s retail and community presence is most visible.

The Canton taproom sits on the riverfront and has served as BearWaters’ primary riverside gathering spot; the Maggie Valley site operates as the company’s bistro location catering to diners and beer drinkers in the valley. Both locations are named publicly by the company in the Feb. 26 announcement and are central to BearWaters’ footprint in western North Carolina, where the brewery has established distribution and a following for its accolades in competitive brewing.

BearWaters’ status as a locally owned and operated regional craft brewery frames the significance of the shift. The company’s award-winning beers are a core part of its identity in Canton and Maggie Valley, and the operational announcement represents a change to how those beers are brought to consumers through on-site taproom and bistro operations. The Feb. 26 notice identifies the two physical locations by name, underscoring that the operational move is targeted rather than systemwide across any other BearWaters outlets.

For customers and partners who associate BearWaters with its riverside taproom in Canton and its Maggie Valley bistro, the Feb. 26, 2026 announcement marks a turning point for two of the brewery’s most public-facing spots. The locally run nature of BearWaters and the brewery’s history of producing award-winning beers mean the operational shift will be watched closely across western North Carolina’s craft-beer community as those two sites adapt to the new plan.