This West Philly brewery-winery is branching out to a taproom in Bella Vista

First, West Philadelphia. Then, Port Richmond. And in September, if all goes to plan, Carbon Copy — Kyle Wolak and Brendon Boudwin’s brewery-winery — will open its third location in Bella Vista.

They are taking over the shuttered Hale & True, the cidery at 613 S. Seventh St., just off South Street and across from the Good King Tavern and its Le Caveau bar as well as the temporarily shuttered Kampar.

Boudwin said that the new taproom would not offer a food menu beyond snacks but that they would partner with nearby restaurants for delivery. As Carbon Copy’s first permanent bar-only space, it will allow more programming and special events, Boudwin said.

The beer menu will be similar to the other locations. With respect to Hale & True’s clientele, “we know a lot of people who are gluten-free kind of gravitate toward cider, so we’re looking to expand that a little bit more,” Boudwin said. In addition, the new location will serve draft wine from local wineries to expand beyond Carbon Copy’s own offerings.

Boudwin and Wolak plan to eventually use the former cidery as additional space for taproom seating and possibly a small private event space. “The long-term plan is to move our wine production there with that area possibly being closed seasonally,” Boudwin said. (Wine, now produced at Carbon Copy’s facility in Kensington, is typically barreled in the fall.)

Wolak views the new location as part of Carbon Copy’s “conscientious” growth, citing a summer 2023 pop-up with Separatist Beer Project on East Passyunk Avenue. “We had a really great response to that,” Wolak said. “People really enjoyed us being in South Philadelphia. So ever since then, we’ve had our eye out trying to find a space, because it just spreads this [brand] across Philadelphia in a pretty nice way.”

Wolak and Boudwin, who met while working for Tired Hands and left there in April 2020, have been involved in every aspect of production at breweries all over the world, including Modern Times Beer (San Diego), Three Floyds (Indiana), Warpigs (Copenhagen), and Hill Farmstead (Vermont).

Their Carbon Copy flagship opened in December 2022 near 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue in the former West Philadelphia firehouse that previously housed a Dock Street location. That location is a pizzeria.

Wolak and Boudwin partnered in 2024 with Mom-Mom’s, the Polish-themed eatery, at the former Lunar Inn on the corner of Richmond and Clementine Streets in Port Richmond.

Carbon Copy self-distributes to local bars and restaurants such as Fountain Porter, South Philly Tap Room, American Sardine Bar, Bad Brother, Wilder, Local 44, and Fiorella.

For now, Wolak and Boudwin have been producing beer out of the West Philadelphia location, buying larger brewing tanks. “It’s an interesting time,” Wolak said. “Used brewing equipment is available right now as some of the larger people are going out of business and there’re additional tanks on the market.”

“Buying larger tanks and having our own additional taprooms where we can sell beer will help us move through our beer quicker, turn [over] the tanks quicker, and be able to increase our total output,” Wolak said. Carbon Copy’s capacity is less than 1,000 barrels per year.

“Long-term, we would like to open additional taprooms when it feels organic and comfortable and when we reach a point where we know we can produce more out of our own space without taking on too much or having to invest the kind of money into building out a new brewery just to satisfy growth in that way,” Wolak said. “The goal would be to open more spaces and expand our distribution a little bit. We do know that we would like to expand in the way of keeping things small and [into] more taprooms.”

Stefanie Gabel of MSC represented both Carbon Copy and the landlord in the transaction.