Rocky Mount Mills After Its Turnover Year: What's Pouring on Falls Road This Fall

"Cheers to 10 amazing years," Explore Nash County director Barbara Green posted as Rocky Mount Mills reached its first decade in 2025. She called the campus a place where "brewers and residents" and "families and friends" had built something special. She listed brewers first, and that fit the history. Beer is how the Mills got its start.

That anniversary year was also when the beer side of the campus changed hands. The Rocky Mount Telegram ranked the Mills' transitions No. 5 among its top stories of 2025. Ten months into 2026, the campus at 1151 Falls Road works differently from the one people got used to. Some of the beer brewed here now leaves for taprooms elsewhere. People come for the schedule: music in Lobby 2 and the Beer Garden, a monthly cooking class, and a Wednesday run that crosses the Tar River.

The First Tenant Closed in Its Own Anniversary Year

Koi Pond Brewing Co. was the first tenant ever on the Mills campus. It brewed in a building that dates to 1917 and closed in 2025. The Mills is a CBC Real Estate community, part of Capitol Broadcasting Co. Evan Covington Chavez works for that real estate division. She told the Telegram that Koi Pond "were willing to take a risk on us in the very beginning, establishing their brewery as the first in Rocky Mount."

Larema Beverage Co. and Jack's closed that year as well. The Rustler at The Mills has since opened in Jack's old space off Falls Road. One naming detail matters here. The Larema that closed was the beverage company on the Mills campus. Larema's Coffee House downtown is a separate business, and Explore Nash County still listed it in its January 2026 roundup of Rocky Mount coffee shops.

Where the Rocky Mount Beer Goes Now

In July 2025, Durham's Fullsteam announced it would lease and manage the Rocky Mount Brewmill. The release said a taproom could follow "within the next one to two years." Fullsteam's own site now calls the Brewmill its 10-barrel innovation brewery, the source of the company's small-batch and seasonal beverages. Fullsteam's visit page lists two places to drink: Durham and Boxyard RTP. Rocky Mount isn't on it.

So Fullsteam's seasonal beer is made on Falls Road and poured about an hour west, at least for now. Fullsteam appears under "Eat & Drink" on the Mills' February 2026 campus map, but so far nothing confirms a Rocky Mount taproom open to walk-ins. The timeline in the original announcement points to 2026 or 2027, so a taproom is still possible. For now, it remains a plan.

Beer is still poured on campus. HopFly Brewing Co. and Bright Penny Brewing are both on the second floor, and Goat Island Bottle Shop is also part of the mix. They are also three of the businesses the Mills credits with supporting live music in the Beer Garden. The breweries still matter. Their role has shifted from being the main draw to helping pay for the events that are.

Who's on the Campus Map

The Mills' February 2026 campus map is the latest full tenant list. It lists nine food and drink businesses:

• Tipsy Tomato
• The Rustler at The Mills, in Jack's old space
• Goat Island Bottle Shop
• River Walk Coffee Co., the campus coffee stop in Explore Nash County's January 2026 roundup
• Fullsteam, which manages the Brewmill
• HopFly Brewing Co., second floor
• Bright Penny Brewing, second floor
• Prime Smokehouse
• Mixers, a cocktail bar that the Rocky Mount Area Chamber's September 2026 video described as open Wednesday through Sunday

Two eat-and-drink spots on the same map are marked "Available Space." No 2026 announcement has named a tenant for either one, or for the old Koi Pond building. Beyond food and drink, the map shows The Power House event venue, River & Twine and its guest house, Mancov Barbershop, the Nash County Travel & Tourism office, and Ripe for Revival's space, The Seed. For outdoor space, it marks the Beer Garden, River Patio, a main-stage lawn, a wiffle ball field, the Smokestack Courtyard and walking trails.

The Calendar Now Does What the Taproom Used to Do

With two eat-and-drink spaces empty and the first brewery closed, the Mills' events page gives people most of their reasons to show up. Through early November it lists these dates:

1. Friday, Oct. 9, 6 to 9 p.m. Tony Jonez and Craig Saxy play Lobby 2.
2. Thursday, Oct. 15, 5:30 to 7 p.m. "Growing Together: From Kitchen to Connection," Ripe for Revival's couples cooking class, meets at The Seed, 1143 Falls Road. The listing price is $100 per couple. The event's web address includes monthly dates going back to April 16, so October is the latest class in a series that has met all season.
3. Friday, Oct. 23, 7 to 10 p.m. The Phoebes play the Beer Garden.
4. Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 a.m. to noon. "A Day at The Mills" is a free, sensory-friendly morning for exceptional children and their families. Registration is encouraged but not required.

One scheduling overlap is worth planning around. The Ripe for Revival class falls on the same Thursday as the Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce's 34th Annual Oyster Roast. The roast is presented by Bunn-Brantley Enterprises and runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at Smith's Pavilion of Dortches. The class ends at 7 p.m., and the roast goes until 9.

Some recurring Mills events need checking before you plan around them. The Cars and Coffee page describes a monthly third-Saturday meetup, but the date it shows is July 19, 2025. Confirm it's still running before you show up.

Wednesday Runs Across the River

The Mills Run/Walk Club meets every Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. at the Beer Garden or Lobby 2, according to Explore Nash County. It runs 2-, 3- and 4-mile routes through Battle Park. Battle Park is on the other bank of the Tar River from the Mills, according to the historic-district nomination that places both in Nash County. The Mills' own map labels it for mountain biking.

When the Telegram reported the Battle Park upgrades finished, the list included 8,760 feet of greenway, five miles of natural-surface trails, new paddle access, a renovated boat ramp and renovated fishing piers. That report is from when the work was finished. It doesn't describe trail or launch conditions this week, so check with the City of Rocky Mount before planning a paddle around the run.

The run club ties back to the main point. It is a weekly reason to come to the campus, it starts at the Beer Garden, and it doesn't depend on any one tenant staying open. That's what has held the Mills together through a year when its first brewery closed and its newest brewer shipped beer west.

What's Planned Beyond Falls Road

Rocky Mount Mills also owns half of the former Burlington Industries Rocky Mount plant off West Ridge Street. The Telegram's 2025 review says design work has begun on what that part of the property could become. No timeline has been published. With 130 residential units already on the main campus, the Mills is now a neighborhood with lofts, apartments and mill village houses. Any future taproom, tenant or restaurant on the West Ridge Street site would add to that.

Historic places along the Tar River come with their own maintenance needs, value questions and stewardship history. That's true of the old mill and also of the farms and timber tracts across the rest of Nash County. If you own land near Rocky Mount and want to know how changes like these affect it, the team at Legacy Farms & Ranches of North Carolina can walk the property with you. Talk to a Land Specialist.