A new cidery, restaurant and venue space is now open in New Kent County’s Providence Forge area.
Old School Cider House, which celebrated its grand opening Sept. 13-14, used to be the site of an old schoolhouse that operated in the 1920s and 1930s before becoming a private residence. Jackie Smith and her husband Mark bought the building in 2021 with the intent of it becoming an event space and community hub.
Smith, who previously worked in construction and operated New Kent Coatings, was looking for a new venture when she heard the property at 9302 East View Lane was for sale.
Old School Cider House is a new cidery, restaurant and venue space located at 9302 East View Land in Providence Forge. Kim O’Brien Root/The Virginia Gazette
“I walked in and immediately fell in love with it,” she said. “I thought it would make a cool event space.”
The cidery specializes in Virginia craft beverages, mainly ciders, though it also serves beer and wine and has a food menu that includes soups, salads, sandwiches and flatbreads. Later this fall, the new business will also have on tap four of its own original ciders inspired by New Kent’s history.
“We wanted to do cider because it is something different and it has its own interesting history in Virginia,” Smith said.
The cider house has several seating areas, each named after a section of a school, including homeroom, the library, the cafeteria and the teacher’s lounge. Rooms can be reserved for special events such as birthday parties, retirement parties, bridal showers and book clubs. The establishment also has live music and other entertainment.
One of the cider flights available at the Old School Cider House in New Kent County. Kim O’Brien Root/The Virginia Gazette
Additionally, there is outdoor seating with room for activities such as cornhole and bocce ball. Smith will also soon break ground on a separate event building behind the cider house that will be able to accommodate up to 200 people. The goal is to become a gathering space for the community and help revitalize the small town of Providence Forge.
“There’s nothing like this in New Kent and people are excited that we are here,” Smith said. “We’ve been well-received. This has become a fun retirement job for us. We just wanted to do something nice for the community and the county that we love.”
Old School Cider House is open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, visit oldschoolciderhouse.com.
Three Prince George Street restaurants relocating to Settlers Market
The Hound’s Tale, The Corner BARKery and The Hound’s Tale Kitchen, three popular restaurants located in downtown Williamsburg, will relocate from Prince George Street to Settlers Market on Monticello Avenue in the space formerly occupied by Baker’s Crust early next year.
The establishments’ owners, Michelle and Steve Sieling, decided to move once their lease ended. Signs in the restaurants’ windows cite a host of reasons for the relocation, including better parking, a larger kitchen and expanded dining room and bar area. All three restaurants will be consolidated under one roof.
Demand for catering services increased with the 2022 opening of The Hound’s Tale Kitchen, a private event rental space, which is also necessitating the move, Michelle Sieling said.
“Our current space is no longer big enough to handle the volume,” she said. “Baker’s Crust fits perfectly with what we need. It has a better layout for our operations.”
The new location will enable the Sielings to expand their menu options, host more private and special events and add on a retail section.
The Hound’s Tale, The Corner BARKery and The Hound’s Tale Kitchen, all located in the 500 block of Prince George Street, will close on Dec. 31. The Sielings anticipate reopening at 5234 Monticello Ave. in mid-January.
“We are all excited,” Michelle Sieling said. “This is going to be a fun new opportunity for us to grow and expand.”
Dots and Dashes
Spineless Reads, a new independent bookstore, opened at the end of last month in Settlers Market adjacent to Chicken Salad Chick. The new store is owned by Lucas Marino.
A ribbon-cutting was held Sept. 12 for the new business Colonial Coins and Collectibles. The business is located at 6610 Mooretown Road.
Saladworks, located at 110 N. Henry St., has permanently closed. The local franchise is no longer listed among the six Virginia locations on the Saladworks corporate website and the phone number has been disconnected. Saladworks received an incentive grant from Williamsburg’s Economic Development Authority to open an establishment downtown in 2021.
Hooters, located at 112 Bypass Road, is under new ownership. Cushman & Wakefield/Thalhimer announced on Sept. 18 that Shah Investments LLC purchased the 4,600-square-foot property from AHK of Williamsburg LLC for $1.375 million as an investment. The restaurant will remain open.
South of the Border Mexican Restaurant, located at 322 2nd St., reopened on Sept. 24 after temporarily closing due to a small fire. It was the second fire the restaurant sustained within the past year.
Great Wolf Lodge’s annual Howl-O-Ween celebration is ongoing through Oct. 31. Festivities include a trick-or-treat trail, a monster bash dance party, arts and crafts, trivia and a limited-edition seasonal menu. For more information, visit greatwolf.com.
Brandy Centolanza, bcentolanza@cox.net
https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/10/04/business-notes-cidery-opens-in-new-kent-county/
