Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Holley.
Hi Christine, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My husband, Aaron, and I have quite a history together, and in many ways, Wasserhund Brewing Company is an extension of that story. We met at Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, both attended Virginia Tech, and eventually married in 2010. After college, we moved to Northern Virginia, where we began building our careers. At the time, owning a brewery wasn’t exactly part of our life plan!
In 2012, we traveled to Germany for Oktoberfest, and that trip helped spark what would eventually become Wasserhund. Aaron was always the one with the passion for brewing, and he was definitely the driving force behind turning that passion into a business. He had the vision and determination to make it happen, and what started as his dream gradually became something we would build together.
Eventually, we made the decision to leave our careers in Northern Virginia and move back to our hometown of Virginia Beach to pursue that dream. Looking back, it was a pretty big leap of faith. We were leaving behind the stability of established careers to start a business in an industry where we had a lot to learn. But we believed in what we were creating and were excited about the opportunity to build something of our own.
In 2015, we opened our first Wasserhund Brewing Company location in Virginia Beach. Our goal was to create a neighborhood brewery that combined great beer, delicious food, and a welcoming atmosphere. We wanted to bring a little of the German beer culture we loved back home, creating a place where people could gather, relax, and feel like part of a community.
Over the years, that little brewery has grown into something far beyond what we originally imagined. We expanded into Chesapeake in 2021 and opened our third location in Norfolk’s Railroad District in 2025. Each location has its own personality, but they all share the same foundation of good beer, good food, and community.
Of course, growing a business comes with plenty of challenges. Going from one location to three has required us to constantly adapt, learn, and rethink how we operate. What works when you’re running one neighborhood brewery doesn’t necessarily work when you’re managing three locations and a much larger team. We’ve made mistakes, learned some hard lessons, and grown tremendously as business owners along the way.
We’ve also been raising our three children throughout this journey, which adds a whole other dimension to owning a family business. Balancing the demands of entrepreneurship with family life can certainly be challenging, but it’s also been incredibly rewarding.
Today, more than 11 years after opening our first location, I’m proud of what we’ve built together. What began as Aaron’s passion for brewing has become a family business that employs an incredible team of people and serves communities throughout Hampton Roads. It’s been quite an adventure, and we’re still learning and evolving every day.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think anyone who tells you owning a business is smooth sailing probably isn’t telling you the whole story.
When we first opened Wasserhund, we were learning everything as we went. We had left behind established careers to jump into an industry where we had a passion and a vision, but there was still so much we didn’t know. Opening a brewery is one thing; learning how to successfully operate a restaurant, manage employees, handle finances, and keep customers coming back is an entirely different challenge.
Then, of course, came COVID. Like so many small businesses, we had to navigate an incredibly uncertain time. It certainly changed our trajectory, but it didn’t define us. It forced us to adapt, get creative, and make difficult decisions, and ultimately taught us a tremendous amount about resilience.
As we’ve grown, our challenges have changed. In some ways, opening our second and third locations was easier because we had experience behind us. But managing three locations is an entirely different business than managing one. You can’t physically be everywhere at once, and you have to learn how to build teams, develop leaders, create consistent systems, and trust other people to carry out your vision.
I would say one of our biggest challenges has been learning to navigate the responsibility that comes with employing people. The irony of growing a business is that you absolutely need people to make that growth possible, but with every new employee comes another person who depends on you, another set of needs, and another layer of unpredictability.
As a business owner, you’re constantly balancing the needs of your employees, your customers, your business, and your own family. Everyone naturally sees their own challenges as the most pressing, but as the owner, you’re responsible for seeing the bigger picture. You’re often juggling multiple issues at once, many of which no one else even knows are happening. It can be exhausting, and it makes finding a true separation between work and personal life incredibly difficult.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that growth doesn’t automatically make things easier. Sometimes it just introduces a whole new set of problems! The things you could manage with a quick conversation when you had one location suddenly require policies, processes, and a much more intentional approach when you have three.
At the end of the day, Wasserhund isn’t just something we’re passionate about. It’s our livelihood. It’s how we support our family, and it’s how many of our employees support theirs. That responsibility doesn’t disappear when the workday ends, and sometimes the decisions we have to make aren’t the fun or popular ones. There are days when owning a business is incredibly rewarding, and there are days when it’s simply exhausting. I think that’s the reality of entrepreneurship that doesn’t always get talked about. You can love what you’ve built and still acknowledge just how difficult it is to keep it running.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Wasserhund Brewing Company?
Wasserhund Brewing Company is a locally owned craft brewery and restaurant with three locations throughout Hampton Roads: Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Norfolk. Our name, Wasserhund, translates to “water dog” in German, which is a pretty fitting combination of our love for dogs, our coastal Virginia roots, and the German beer culture that originally inspired us.
At our core, we’re passionate about making great beer and creating places where people genuinely want to spend their time. We brew a variety of craft beers, from traditional German-inspired styles to more modern and creative offerings. We love introducing people to different styles of beer, but we also believe that beer should be approachable. You don’t have to be a craft beer expert to enjoy Wasserhund.
One thing that really sets us apart is our food. We’ve always wanted to be more than a brewery that happens to serve something to eat. Our kitchens are an important part of who we are, and we’re known for our artisan pizzas, giant Bavarian pretzels, and a menu designed to complement our beers. We want people to think of Wasserhund just as easily when they’re deciding where to have dinner as when they’re deciding where to grab a drink.
Our three locations each have their own personality. Virginia Beach is where it all started and has become a neighborhood gathering place for so many of our longtime customers. Chesapeake has allowed us to build another strong community of regulars, while our Norfolk location in the Railroad District brings a different energy with its retro arcade atmosphere. While each space is unique, our goal is for the Wasserhund experience to feel familiar no matter which location you visit.
Community has always been an incredibly important part of Wasserhund, and one of the things I’m most proud of is our commitment to giving back. Since opening our doors 11 years ago, we’ve donated more than $384,000 directly to local charities through our charitable giving efforts. That number represents actual dollars donated to organizations in our community. It doesn’t include the countless other events, fundraisers, sponsorships, and ways we’ve supported local causes over the years.
One of the biggest ways we accomplish this is through our weekly Charity Nights, which we host at all three locations. We partner with local nonprofits, schools, and community organizations and donate 25% of qualifying sales during their designated evenings back to their cause. It’s a simple concept, but one that has allowed us to make a meaningful impact over time. We believe that being a locally owned business comes with a responsibility to support the community that supports us, and we’re proud that giving back has been part of Wasserhund’s identity from the very beginning.
Brand-wise, I’m probably most proud that we’ve created something people recognize and feel connected to. The dog-themed names, the German influence, and the personality of Wasserhund make us a little different, but it’s the relationships we’ve built that really define us. We have customers who have been coming to Wasserhund since we first opened, and it’s pretty incredible to see how we’ve become part of their routines, celebrations, and traditions.
Ultimately, we want people to know that Wasserhund is locally owned, independently operated, and deeply invested in the communities we serve. We take our beer, our food, and our business seriously, but we also believe there’s room to have fun and do some good along the way. Whether you’re coming in for your favorite beer, bringing the family for pizza, or visiting us for the first time, we want you to feel welcome.
What are your plans for the future?
After 11 years of growing Wasserhund from one location to three, I think our focus right now is really on strengthening what we’ve already built. Growth is exciting, but we’ve learned that bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better, and sometimes the most important thing you can do for a business is focus on making it stronger rather than simply making it larger.
We’re continuing to improve our operations, develop our leadership teams, and create more consistency across our locations. We want each Wasserhund to maintain its own personality while delivering the same quality of food, beer, and service that our customers expect.
We’re also always looking for ways to keep things fresh, whether that’s experimenting with new beers, introducing new menu items, or creating events that bring people together. Our community involvement will continue to be an important part of that, and we’d love to see the impact of our Charity Nights continue to grow.
Ultimately, our goal is to make Wasserhund a strong, successful business that can continue to thrive for years to come. We’ve put an incredible amount of time, energy, and ourselves into building it, and we’re proud of what it has become. Right now, we’re focused on making sure the foundation we’ve built is as strong as possible for whatever the future holds.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wasserhundbrewing.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wasserhundbrewing
- Twitter: https://www.instagram.com/wasserhundbrew
