Crooked Hammock Brings Beer Garden, Backyard BBQ to West Raleigh in April

Crooked Hammock Brewery is set to open its first North Carolina location at 4501 Edwards Mill Road in West Raleigh's GlenLake development this April, bringing 8,600 square feet of restaurant, brewery, and outdoor backyard space to a part of the city that has long lacked this kind of anchor.

The Delaware-based concept, founded in 2015 to recreate what the brand calls "that perfect backyard feeling," will feature a two-story stone fireplace, a Porch Bar, hammocks, ping pong tables, cornhole, ring toss, a firepit area and a kids' playground. Inside, the brewing tank room will serve as the visual centerpiece of the floor plan, a first for any Crooked Hammock location. Garage doors will open the dining room onto the outdoor backyard in warm weather, blurring the line between bar and lawn.

The menu centers on backyard barbecue, with nachos, wings, ribs, steak burgers and stacked sandwiches, alongside a new pizza program featuring stone-fire oven pies. Built into that program is a community element: $1 from every pie sold will be donated to a local organization.

Founder Rich Garrahan describes the concept as "a place for anyone to just get away from the everyday," and managing partner Josh Grapski has called the GlenLake site potentially the biggest and best Crooked Hammock yet. "As we found this office park and GlenLake, the surrounding community and the unbelievably positive demographics that fit who we are, we just knew we wanted to be here," Grapski said.

For West Raleigh, the address across from Wong's Tacos on Edwards Mill Road puts a high-capacity outdoor venue within reach of GlenLake's office workers, surrounding neighborhood families, and weekend diners who have otherwise had to drive downtown for a comparable experience. The downtown Raleigh Beer Garden on Glenwood Avenue holds three Guinness World Records for its 386-plus draft taps; Crooked Hammock is pitched more as a backyard than a record-holder, designed to be lingered in rather than marveled at.

West Raleigh has watched GlenLake grow steadily with new restaurants and community amenities in recent years. Crooked Hammock this spring is its biggest bet yet.