When operating during the COVID-19 pandemic presented a challenge to Newsylum Brewing Company, an existing license agreement modification was sought to give the local business extra outdoor space.

Newsylum is located in the former Stratford Hall building at the Fairfield Hills campus. The modification does not alter the business’s existing lease from the town — its exterior footprint was simply expanded for one year. The modification is in effect until May 21, 2022.

The extended space gives Newsylum the ability to place a bandstand against the back of neighboring Stamford Hall, which, according to First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, the town does not have immediate plans to renovate or demolish.

Newsylum built a large pavilion area outside and fenced the area between Stratford and Stamford halls, as its liquor license requires the brewery to keep customers on Newsylum property when they are consuming alcohol. The original lease kept the bounds of Newsylum 15 feet away from Stamford, but Newsylum co-owner Mark Tambascio said that the town may be looking at Stamford as a “possible teardown.”

With state mandates concerning the pandemic mostly ending, Tambascio said that the brewery has been “doing pretty good” with the extra space, and that they have “received a lot of support from the town.” Live music has started on Saturdays, and a recent event saw a large crowd filling the brewpub’s indoor space, pavilion, and area around the bandstand.

Many of the patrons came to watch the Boston-area band Dub Apocalypse play while drinking beer with names like Therapy Session Pale Ale and Flagpole Porter.

“We got the extra space about two months ago, and it helps us a lot,” said Tambascio.

A Family Business

Owners Tambascio, David Kingsley, and Mark Lennon were joined by head brewer John Watson to form Newsylum, which opened in June 2020.

Rosenthal said the original lease for Newsylum was signed in his first term on the Board of Selectmen, and he knew the town was getting a successful operation with a family business whose owners have two other businesses in town. The brewery was the first commercial renovation of a building at Fairfield Hills and “shows what is possible on the campus,” said Rosenthal.

The Newtown Municipal Center was developed in the former state hospital’s dining building. The Newtown Center for Support and Wellness is housed in a former security guard residence, while the Newtown Community Center and NYA Sports and Fitness were built new.

“[The brewery’s owners] spent a lot of time and money and then opened into the teeth of COVID,” said Rosenthal. “They initially were just doing can sales off their loading dock.”

He said the brewery’s owners felt the building — with its palatial interior space and brewing equipment — was the big attraction, but there was a demand for outdoor space to make social distancing easier.

“With COVID, outdoor space is in high demand,” Rosenthal said.

Rosenthal said that the brewery is a “great addition” to the Fairfield Hills campus and will “compliment future development” there.

“With the music and some other business activity here, it will bring people to the campus,” said Rosenthal.

Planning For Success

Director of Planning George Benson said he thought the license agreement was a “good thing.”

“They’ve shown the business is doing well, and this makes it a better place to go,” Benson said. “They needed a little more room and we want them to be successful.”

At the neighboring nonprofit Newtown Parent Connection, which is housed in an adjacent converted duplex, founder Dorrie Carolan said that while it is sometimes difficult for those attending Thursday night meetings to find parking, and that the live music can be heard from within the Parent Connection building, the brewery has been a “good neighbor.”

She said that prior to the fencing being put up, they did have customers from the brewery hanging around on Parent Connection property, which was only a concern because of insurance liability. With the fence up, that no longer happens.

Community Center Director Matt Ariniello said that he’s “obviously very excited” about the increased traffic the brewery is bringing to the Fairfield Hills campus that “only betters opportunities and brings attention to what we do here.”

“Everything has been fine so far,” Ariniello said.

Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps Chief Liz Cain said the brewery “hasn’t had much of an impact” on its volunteers, other than an occasional customer cutting through their property and more cars in the back parking lot.

“It’s a nice place,” said Cain. “Good noise comes from there; they’ve been a good neighbor.”

Newsylum can be found online at newsylumbrewing.com or reached by phone at 203-491-2038.

Reporter Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.