Dacha Beer Garden appears set to take over the former Denizens Brewing Co. taproom and brewery in downtown Silver Spring.
According to Maryland business filings, Dacha co-owner Ilya Alter filed a trade name application for the location at 1115 East-West Highway in late January, which is no longer available for lease.
The Montgomery County Board of License Commissioners will hold a hearing on April 10 at 10 a.m. regarding Dacha’s application for a beer, wine, and liquor license.
An opening timeline has not been announced.
Denizens closed its downtown Silver Spring taproom in 2023 due to a dispute over renewing the brewery’s lease. According to DCBeer.com, the decision to close the Silver Spring taproom, which opened in 2014, was primarily driven by the expiration of the original ten-year lease.
The landlord wanted to renew the lease for another ten years, but Denizens sought a shorter renewal term, which the landlord refused.
Co-founder Julie Verratti stated that given the uncertainty of the last few years, the brewery was not interested in signing another ten-year lease. Following the pandemic, Denizens stopped brewing at its Silver Spring location, relocated its brewing equipment to Riverdale Park, and sold surplus equipment to other regional breweries, including Atlas Brew Works, Lost Generation, and Black Narrows.
Dacha Beer Garden co-owners Ilya Alter and Dimitri Chekaldin opened their first location in Washington, D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood in 2013. They later expanded to Navy Yard in 2019 and were honored as one of the best beer gardens in the U.S. in USA Today’s Readers’ Choice 2022 Awards.
Alter and Chekaldin announced plans to expand the Dacha Beer Garden franchise along the East Coast in 2023.
Photo: “Denizens Brewing Co – Silver Spring, Maryland” by Farragutful is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. (Thanks to reader Marcus for the photo and tip!)
