J Brians Tap Room

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Location & Contact:

200 Hanover St.
Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401
540-373-0738
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Description:

The history of the Irish pub is steeped in culture and lore. An Irish pub of the Middle Ages was a rough-hewn place of natural wood furniture and stone walls. They bore large fireplaces and hanging oil lamps over wood or cobblestone. In addition to ale, an Irish pub usually sold essential food and hardware items. The Irish pub was a warm, welcoming place where people socialized, sang, relaxed, told stories, and exchanged gossip and rumors.

Not much has changed. We have taken the best of the Irish traditions and melded them with a modern and pop culture sensibility. While the walls may be filled with icons of the present, the past is alive and well on the walls, too. For us, it?s all about tradition and family history. Jack and Brian Hyland are proud to be 4th generation barkeeps.

Like many Irish before and since, our 1st generation barkeep and great grandfather, Harry Dugan, left County Cork in Ireland to make his way to America. He wound up doing what he knew best: he ran a pub. He regaled customers with his dry wit, amazed them with his never ending thirst, and kept the revenues hidden under a floorboard behind the bar. His picture hangs in our dining room where Harry keeps a constant eye on the comings and goings of his family.

More than 20 years ago our father (Harry?s grandson), James Brian Hyland, Sr. decided to carry on the family tradition and opened the original Irish Brigade Restaurant on Princess Anne Street here in Fredericksburg. For more than 10 years, Brian (the younger) and other family members provided the comfort and hospitality that has become a family tradition.

In 1994, J. Brian?s Tap Room opened its doors to the public with enormous success. It is truly a family affair. We (Brian, brother Jack and mother Sally) have welcomed friends and strangers to the Tap Room like members of our extended family. Father Brian, Sr. watches everything while enjoying a refreshing pint with his good friends, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne and another proud Irishman, Ronald Reagan. (Can you find him on our dining room walls?)

Whether it?s the history of our family, this building (the former site of the Hotel Maury and The Exchange Hotel), Fenway Park, Lambeau Field, long ago nights at The Mount or the Columbia Inn, J. Brian?s Tap Room loves it all; you?ll find plenty of it here. So pull up a chair, raise a pint and make a little history yourself.

We offer good food and hospitality, the rest is up to you!

The History of our Location

J. Brian?s Tap Room opened its doors to the public in the summer of 1994, but our location has enjoyed a interesting history for more than 150 years.

According to reports, the original three-story Exchange Hotel, on the south corner of Caroline and Hanover streets, had front walls of pressed brick, oil-finished and of a beautiful red. The brickwork of the entire building was said to be the most handsome in the state.

Historian Robert A. Hodge researched its long history. Built by William D. Green about 1837, it had a theatrical hall known as Green?s Assembly. Artist John A. Elder, who became noted for his portraits and Civil War paintings, had his studio in the first Exchange.

A fire on Dec. 18, 1857, destroyed the first Exchange Hotel. Foundations were laid for rebuilding but all work stopped when the Civil War broke out. Less than a year after the end of the war, the remains of the Exchange barely escaped condemnation and rebuilding continued.

On Nov. 21, 22 and 23, 1866, the public was invited to view the handsome new hotel and enjoy festive suppers. They also enjoyed the tableaux given for the benefit of the Ladies? Memorial Association of Fredericksburg, which was beginning its task of reinterring the Confederate dead. Maj. Horace Lacy?s presentation of ?The Conquered Banner? was a highlight of the evening.

When the new Exchange Hotel opened officially on Jan. 1, 1867, the newspaper described it as ?having all the appearance and appointment of a city establishment.? There was a stone porch, ballroom, dining room, and a graceful, circular walnut staircase. Its many chimneys were an integral part of the Fredericksburg skyline.

In the lobby was an ?unsurpassed? business directory with two large rosewood frames divided into squares listing all area businessmen. In the center of one frame was a clock around which was shown the hours of departure and arrival of the trains. In the center of the other frame was a picture of the steamer Wenonah at sea. Machinery kept her wheels and the waves around her in motion. Arrival and departure of steamboats were shown.

Things went well for the second Exchange Hotel for a short while. Trees and flowers filled a handsome little garden. On Monday nights during the summer of 1868, weather permitting, the brass band of professor Andrew B. Bowering performed from the hotel?s balcony.

But by 1879, the Exchange was in dire financial straits. Fredericksburg businessman John G. Hurkamp and others bought it for a rumored $6,000. Maj. C.B. Luck leased the property and advertised that it had been thoroughly renovated and refinished with the latest style of furniture including woven wire springs and hair mattresses.

Next came L. Cotton and William A. Hill, two gentlemen from Connecticut, who took possession of the Exchange on Jan. 1, 1887, and completed renovations early in 1892. A Free Lance reporter pronounced the parlor ?a gem? and the dining room the finest in the South.

The 20th century was not kind to the Exchange, with major competition from the new Princess Anne and Stratford hotels. By 1915, the Exchange had become the Hotel Frederick and then, in 1921, the Hotel Maury.

In the mid-1980s, the building was restored by the Shibley Ehman Co. and today has luxury apartments on the upper floors and businesses on the street level.

Welcome to our virtual home, we hope you make it down to our restaurant soon to enjoy the many delightful items we serve in person!

We have nearly two dozen Ales, Lagers, Stouts and Ciders on tap from around the world. You won?t find any bottled beer here!

We are also proud of our diverse wine selection our eclectic appetizers, salads, entrees and our homemade desserts, so please take a look at our menu. Come on down and judge for yourself!