Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development

Mermaid Winery Expands to Virginia Beach

September 20, 2017

Mermaid Winery, named the Commonwealth's first urban winery by the Virginia Wine Board, is expanding with a second location in Virginia Beach. The winery, founded in 2012 in the Ghent neighborhood of Norfolk, will lease property at 4401 Shore Drive near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

The new 8,084-square-foot location will allow Mermaid Winery to increase the company's wine manufacturing capabilities and is anticipated to open by the end of this year. Like the existing location, the Virginia Beach facility will include a wine bar where the winemaking process can be viewed, a restaurant with inside and outside dining areas and a tasting/event room.

Mermaid Winery is a small, woman-owned business, and this expansion will bring approximately 25 jobs to the City of Virginia Beach.

Using a variety of grapes sourced from premier vineyards in Virginia and California, the vision of Mermaid Winery is to produce stunning wines that express the characteristic taste and flavor of the environment from which the grapes were produced. In addition to their own line of signature Mermaid wines, they also have 750 different wines from around the world available to taste.

"Mermaid Winery has achieved great success with their unique approach to crafting wines in this region, and we are proud they have chosen to expand their operations into Virginia Beach," said Virginia Beach Economic Development Director Warren D. Harris. "This investment in our city further strengthens the thriving small business community we have here."

The Virginia Beach Development Authority has approved an Economic Development Investment Program grant in the amount of $38,000 based on the company's capital investment of more than $1 million that includes real estate, machinery and furniture, fixtures and equipment. The grant will support Mermaid Winery's workforce development and employee training initiatives, planned site work and utility upgrades.

"We appreciate the City of Virginia Beach's investment in our business," said Mermaid Winery owner Jennifer Eichert. "And, we're excited about the opportunity to share our unique wine experience with the Virginia Beach community."

The mission of the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development is to attract and retain national and international businesses to stimulate capital investment and create jobs. Virginia Beach is the most populous city in Virginia with a population of 450,000, and it is the 37^th largest in the United States. The Department of Economic Development received re-accreditation through the International Economic Development Council in 2016 and is one of only 50 economic development organizations in the world to have this recognition. Most recently, Virginia Beach was named America's #1 best big city to live in by wallethub.com. For more information, visit www.yesvirginiabeach.com.