Franklin's new brewpub is toast of the city

FRANKLIN — There’s a modern understanding of “vulgar” as foul, or rude. But that’s only one definition, another understanding is associative with common, regular people – the masses. And that’s why a pair of couples picked the word as the title of their brewery, which just opened in Franklin last weekend. They want the name to signify that their brewpub’s doors are open to all.

“Everybody’s welcome,” said Damon Lewis, brewer and one of the owners of Vulgar Brewing Company. “We want to be part of the community.”

The founders of Vulgar Brewing are all transplants to Franklin. Lewis and his wife, Megan, are originally from Nebraska. Their business partners, Jason and Shelly Harrington, are from Massachusetts and Florida, respectively. All four were living in Texas about eight years ago when they met over the shared interest of homebrewing.

Then they went their separate ways. Damon transitioned from home brewer to professional, helping to start and run a brewery in the Dallas area. The Harringtons moved to the Lakes Region, where Jason took a job as a teacher in a private school. After several years, Damon started to tire of the Texas heat, and the brewery’s focus on broad distribution left him feeling disconnected from the people who were enjoying his labors.

That’s about when Jason ran into Marty Parichand, owner of the paddlesports store Outdoor New England and one of the champions of the campaign to turn downtown Franklin into one of the premiere outdoor recreation destinations east of the Mississippi River. There’s great mountain biking and hiking nearby, and a whitewater river that flows right through the city’s center. Many pieces of the puzzle were already in place, but a few were missing – including a place to get a cold pint of craft beer after the day’s adventure.

“That’s how this project started,” Damon said on Wednesday, after a whirlwind of an opening weekend. He said he and his partners were compelled by a solid business case for opening a small brewpub in downtown Franklin, as there aren’t any other such businesses nearby except for Kettlehead Brewing in Tilton.

And, Damon said, there was the chance to be part of Franklin’s next chapter. “There was an opportunity here, we wanted to be part of the revitalization and the good, positive changes going on.” It was compelling enough that the Lewises sold their home in Texas to move to Franklin last year.

While the brewery space was being renovated, Damon worked at 603 Brewery in Londonderry.

Following an extensive renovation of the space that began in March, the seven-barrel brewery opened with three beers to pour: the “Tall Man IPA,” “Hail Saison!” and the “Mill City IPA,” the last of which will support the development of the Mill City Park project, which is aimed at adding engineered whitewater features to the Winnipesaukee River. The next addition to the tap list will be an oatmeal stout.

There are a total of 12 tap lines at Vulgar, and Damon said he plans to fill them with highly drinkable beers that are subtly complex – good for people who just want to enjoy a beer with friends, but also interesting for the discerning sipper. He doesn’t feel tied to any one style, he said, but expects that four or six of their beers will emerge as signature brews that they will always keep on hand. But to get them, you’ll have to make your way into downtown Franklin – Damon said he has no plans to distribute.

What goes better with beer than pizza? Vulgar Brewing is a brewery first, Damon said, “But the food is very important to us.” Their menu is pizza-centric and, even though there’s already several pizza places in Franklin, Damon said theirs is a distinct offering. It’s a thin, New York-style crust, he said, with the dough made in-house and let to rise for between 24 and 48 hours. And though there’s some of the usual toppings offered, they also have concocted some unusual specialty pies. There’s one with a jalapeno and cream cheese sauce, for example, and another that reminds Damon of the “Whataburger” cheeseburgers that he came to love in Texas.

“It’s not like anything else in this region,” Damon said.

How was their first weekend? “It was really good,” he said. “We were packed in here on Saturday, it was full. A lot of positive feedback.” There was also a little bit of critical feedback, which he took as a good sign. “A lot of people care that we’re here.”

One of those people is Parichand, who said he visited the brewpub four times over the weekend. He said he was as impressed by who he saw as he was by what was served.

“It was interesting to see community members and people come into the community consistently over the first weekend. A brewery brings a lot to a community, the walk-in traffic it creates. It was great to see the community rally around them,” Parichand said.

He said it fulfilled his hopes for what a brewpub could mean for the riverside city.

“We thought it would be an interesting addition,” Parichand said. “It took a long time to get to that point, but the pieces came together. A brewery attracts a younger crowd, it’s a vibrant part that creates a unique feel, it contributes to community development and creation of that identity.”

“It’s pretty exciting, a true attraction,” Parichand said.

Vulgar Brewing Company is located at 378 Central Street in Franklin. It’s initial hours of operation are 4 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.