As the popularity of craft beer has boomed in our state, so has the number of breweries, and the beer that they brew helps them stand out against their competitors.

But producer Clay Johnson and his videographer Eric Olson discovered a brewery in the western part of our state that also stands out because of its location.

[gentle acoustic music] - [Clay] The historic 1947 Mars Theater sits on a hillside overlooking downtown Mars Hill.

It's now home to Mars Theater Brewing Company.

- We get a lot of customers come in that are in their eighties and say they saw their first movie here.

So when people come in here they're like, "Wow, this is something, this is so cool."

You know, anything nostalgic or old, people like to be part of.

And you can see that this is an old theater.

- [Clay] Mark and Mary Fretwell, who moved to Lake Lure from England, bought an old barbecue restaurant in Chimney Rock in 2015 and converted it into a brewery.

A few years later, they bought the abandoned Mars Theater and converted it into a brewery that made the beer for both locations.

Mark did most of the renovations.

- [Scott] So he bought all the decking to level a lot of areas out for people to be able to sit comfortably, you know, flat.

- [Clay] Mark built the bar too.

But as he was struggling with a terminal illness, the Fretwells decided to sell the two breweries to brothers Rick and Scott Spruill in October, 2022.

- I've taken a huge love affair with this building and this brewery and the customers that we're currently seeing.

- [Clay] The Fretwells served mostly English beers, but the Spruills have been transitioning to more American styles, - [Scott] American hops, American barley, American grains.

So we have converted a little bit of that.

- [Clay] Popular brews include the Oxnard West Coast IPA.

- [Scott] It's not quite a hazy IPA, but it has a subtle citrus flavor to it.

It's a true West Coast IPA.

- [Clay] The Spruills have also introduced sours like the Raspberry.

- [Scott] It's like a flavored seltzer water, but it's got a stronger, sour finish to it.

- And the Spruills have kept some of the Fretwells' favorites like the Devil's Head Red.

- That's a traditional red ale.

We do do some English hops in that, 'cause that's the integrity of what Mark created there.

- [Clay] The brewery serves pub fare like sandwiches, quesadillas, wings and more.

Spruill added chandeliers to brighten the place up a bit and created a wall of paintings of rock and roll icons.

- [Scott] Because I wanted to create not only a movie theater vibe, but also a music venue vibe.

♪ There's too much confusion ♪ - [Clay] There's live music on weekends and open mic nights.

There's also trivia night, and of course movie nights.

- Craft seems to be delayed.

- He'll be here, never fear.

- [Clay] Spruill also plans to use the stage to host plays and stand up comedy.

But the Spruills' efforts took a hit when flooding from Tropical Storm Helene destroyed their Chimney Rock Brewery.

- Absolutely mind blowing.

You know, it's something we never expected.

That was a big revenue piece that is gone now.

Chimney Rock's a big tourist town.

That brewery was packed seven days a week, especially during the season.

So now we don't have to make as much beer and the beer is what generates the revenue.

- [Clay] But there's a bit of a bright side too.

- A lot of people have discovered us since Helene because Mars Hill was basically untouched from the storm.

So we had 70% of our customers since Helene were first time customers.

- [Clay] The Spruills are hoping to make up some of the lost Chimney Rock revenue with those new customers and also with local loyals like Jacob and Makayla Carver.

- I love it.

It's very chill and laid back and there's not too much going on even when there are a lot of people here.

It's not crazy.

- That's the biggest thing about this place is just nice, calm place, not too wild or nothing like that.

Everybody just wants to come and do the same thing.

Just drink a beer and hang out, you know?

- [Clay] And that's just what the Spruills have in mind with their Mars Theater Brewery.

- [Scott] What I like in a business is a nice, relaxed environment that people can just get along, feel very, very comfortable.

No stress.

That's the idea.

That's what I want and that's what we present here, and that's the culture that we have here.

- Mars Theater Brewing Company is at 70 North Main Street in Mars Hill and they're open Wednesday through Sunday.

For more information, give them a call at 828-680-1284 or visit them online at chimneyrockbrewing.net.