The former home of Wilmington’s Edward Teach Brewing is on the market.

The roughly 7,500-square-foot building at 604 N. Fourth St. is listed for lease or sale, with a list price of $2.85 million. Edward Teach operated out of the building from 2017 until it closed in mid-February.

Since the listing went live on Tuesday, Lindsey Hess, a senior vice president with Cape Fear Commercial and a listing agent for the property, said she's seen "a ton of interest" in the building. Patrick Riley, a senior vice president with Cape Fear Commercial, is also a listing agent for the property.

So far, Hess said, they've seen interest from event venue and brewery users, along with other proposed uses. The sale or lease of the building includes its existing brewing equipment, creating an opportunity for a “turnkey brewery,” she added. 

“Obviously, it would be a great option for a brewery, distillery, event venue, taproom, brew pub, hospitality,” Hess said, “but could certainly be a candidate for adaptive reuse as a historic property.”

The two-story building was built in 1907 and operated for decades as a firehouse. The current layout includes a bar and seating space, along with a warehouse, storage space and second-floor offices, according to a flyer about the property. 

“Given the location, it’s a very obviously rare opportunity to acquire something in this submarket with this character, positioning and history,” Hess said.

Property records show Edward Teach Brewing LLC purchased the building in August 2017 for $1.1 million.

Edward Teach had a tumultuous few years leading up to its closure. A social media post in the fall of 2023 alleged that the brewery’s former owner, Gary Sholar, had engaged in an altercation with a local musician, prompting several local establishments to drop Edward Teach beer and others to boycott the brewery. 

Ownership of the brewery was transferred to Sholar’s sister, Amy Ottaway, last summer, according to a social media post from the brewery. Edward Teach announced its closing in another social media post on Jan. 30, and its final day of operation was Feb. 15.

If the building is leased, Hess expects the building’s use could be similar to its former use as a brewery, but if it sells, “it can be imagination run wild,” she said.

To Hess, the building’s potential fits into a larger trend of continued commercial confidence in downtown Wilmington, driven by population growth, tourism and a shift toward more experiential retail and hospitality concepts. 

“I think it fits very well into the bigger narrative of what’s going on in Wilmington generally,” she said, “and specifically downtown and the Brooklyn Arts District, Fourth Street area.”