About Flora Hall
Flora Hall Brewing is a neighbourhood gathering place designed from the ground up to welcome and delight our customers with delicious beer and food and warm service, all in a striking setting.
Founder Dave Longbottom spent decades travelling the globe in other ventures, always seeking out the best local taverns and watering holes and sampling the drink, food and hospitality on offer. Flora Hall is the synthesis of these experiences, launched to provide Ottawa with a unique new drinking and eating locale, and built to last.
After rescuing the derelict structure at 37 Flora St. in 2016, an extensive, year-long transformation began. The renovation is built upon and complements the building’s long and familiar heritage as an engineering warehouse and office. All the work was completed by local trades and craftspeople.
We opened on Oct. 27, 2017, with space for 120 customers. The room is warm and welcoming, with a rich palette of wood, tile and dark metal. We have seating and bars on our main level and our mezzanine, and an authentic, full-size garage door—which will be up and open when weather permits!
Our beer is made in our 18 hectolitre, two-vessel brewhouse, including one bright tank and five single fermentation tanks. We produce a variety of beer styles made with quality ingredients and the careful attention of our talented brewers.
Our kitchen produces creative and contemporary takes on classic comfort foods from around the globe, with ingredients sourced locally and seasonally. The food complements drinking and conversation, perfect for snacking and sharing over an afternoon or evening of conviviality.
Flora Hall Brewing is built on quality drink and food, with a focus on ensuring that our customers, be they longstanding or first time, are delighted in every respect. We hope you’ll gather with us soon!
History
Flora Hall was built in 1927 by the Welch and Johnston automotive firm, and for more than 50 years the building housed the company’s automotive radio repair business, and other electrical services for cars and trucks. Later it was used to service home heating systems.
After Welch and Johnston closed, the occupants of the building included Cycle Salvage—a “biker garage,” which led at least one mother to tell her children that when walking home from school, “Don’t go down Flora Street!” Other occupants continued the mechanical history, including Uptown Automotive.
In 2004 a proposal was put forward to add two floors and convert the garage into a sixplex apartment building, while maintaining the original, familiar facade. The project, so to speak, never got off the ground.
It sat empty for a number of years until 2016, when a top-to-bottom conversion began to make it the new home of Flora Hall Brewing. Our extensive renovation has complemented the historic status and nature of the building, as seen in our company logo—a garage door built of a stylized F and H!