Williamsburg happy to see Exhibit A plans for historic tavern, sets license hearing

WILLIAMSBURG — Exhibit A Brewing Co. and its plans to serve made-on-premises beer, wine and distilled hard liquor are headed to a public hearing and town board vote April 28.

It's the next set of steps in a long licensing process in Williamsburg, where Exhibit A's planned Williams House Tavern location has been a gathering spot for 214 years.

But it's been closed to the public for more than two years since its last operator, Burgy Brews, closed. Before that it was Brewmaster's Tavern and before that Opa Opa .

"The building means a lot, the business means a lot to people," said Elizabeth Van Iderstine, the interim town administrator in Williamsburg. "It's been hard to have it sit empty."

Tuesday, the Select Board set the public hearing.

Exhibit A seeks farmer's series pouring permits for its brewery, winery and distillery plus another permit that ties all three of those permits together and allows Exhibit A to serve the three classes of alcohol in the same location.

In the heart of town, the former Burgy Brews has been a restaurant or tavern since Gross Williams opened a hotel and livery there 1812.

The owners of Exhibit A bought the property at a foreclosure auction in April 2024 for $682,500. Exhibit A closed its operations in Framingham after buying the building in Williamsburg.

Ralph Sacramone, executive director of the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, said Exhibit A has pending applications for both a farmer winery and a farmer brewery allowing manufacture. The state recently approved a license as a farmer distillery.

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