Owner of Wilmington's Edward Teach Brewery pleads guilty to 2 charges, others dismissed

The owner of Wilmington's Edward Teach Brewery pleaded guilty in a New Hanover County courthouse Monday to two misdeameanor charges stemming from a November incident that has resulted in criminal charges, multiple lawsuits and a boycott of the brewery.

According to a statement from his lawyer, Edwin L. West III of Wilmington's Brooks Pierce Law Firm, Edward Teach Brewery owner Gary Sholar pleaded guilty to failing to superintend a business for which an Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (ABC) permit has been issued.

Sholar also entered an Alford plea to being an ABC permittee that allowed disorderly conduct on its premises. An Alford plea allows a defendant to plead guilty while maintaining their innocence.

Sholar was fined $100 and sentenced to 45 days in jail, with the sentence being suspended and Sholar being placed on six months of unsupervised probation. The probation can be terminated upon completion of the ABC's Responsible Alcohol Seller/Server Program.

Both charges drawing guilty pleas were filed by North Carolina's Alcohol Law Enforcement agency, or ALE. A third misdemeanor charge filed by ALE was dismissed.

Also dismissed Monday were four more misdemeanor charges against Sholar, two counts each of assault on a female and communicating threats. Those "self-initiated" charges were taken out by Asia Norris and Paige Grant, meaning Norris and Grant went to a magistrate, who found probable cause to file the charges.

Norris and Grant were part of a November altercation with Sholar at Edward Teach after Sholar attempted to sing with Norris, who was performing music there under the name Asia Daye. Sholar and Grant exchanged profanities during a heated argument, which ended when Sholar kicked Grant out of the brewery.

In notes by prosecutor George Edward Coleman IV included on the order of dismissal, "The state has concluded that Mr. Sholar's actions are sufficiently attributed to disorderly conduct under the ALE charges."

Colman notes that "Sholar approached (Norris) and did make physical contact with (her) in an attempt to sing with her," but that Sholar maintains he "perceived the interaction to be harmless."

"Gary never assaulted or threatened Asia Daye or Paige Grant," West said in his statement. "He was prepared to prove his innocence at a trial if necessary. The dismissal of all of those charges is entirely appropriate — and consistent with what Gary has said all along."

In regard to the guilty pleas, West said "Gary understands that as the owner of a brewery he is held to a higher standard than a regular patron while in his own establishment."

Sholar has said that he was drinking beer but was off-duty at the time of the incident, meaning that he wasn't technically allowed to kick anyone out.

In other news regarding Edward Teach, its ABC permit to operate as a brewery was reinstated as of Feb. 26. According to the North Carolina ABC website, the brewery had its permit "cancelled" on Feb. 23, 2023.

Edward Teach Brewery (ETB), which takes its name from the notorious pirate known as Blackbeard, whose real name was Edward Teach, opened in a historic firehouse on North Fourth Street in 2017 and quickly became a popular spot for gatherings and live music.

For the past two months, Wilmington's ETB has been embroiled in controversy over accusations against Sholar. Background on the story is below.

What is the controversy about?

On Dec. 29, Brunswick County musician Madonna Nash wrote a Facebook post accusing Sholar of misconduct.

The post referenced a mid-November incident that had occurred at Edward Teach six weeks beforehand, when Nash's daughter, the singer Asia Norris, who performs under the name Asia Daye, was performing at Edward Teach. Nash's accusations included Sholar assaulting her daughter and throwing chairs inside his establishment.

Her post went viral, stoking outrage among many in the community and leading to widespread media coverage of the incident.

What has the fallout been?

Before the viral post, Edward Teach's beer, particularly its Teach's Peaches brew, were near-ubiquitous in area stores and establishments.

Since the post, the brewery's taproom manager, Amy Cavasos, said business has slowed. Many area establishments stopped carrying Edward Teach products, as did at least one grocery store, Lowes Foods.

The Edward Teach taproom remains open for business. The business hasn't posted to its Facebook page since January, but its Instagram page has been active. Edward Teach beer is still available at a number of area locations including Harris-Teeter and Food Lion supermarkets.

What charges have been filed?

The only person to face criminal charges so far has been Sholar, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Sholar and Edward Teach have filed civil lawsuits against two people.

In January, Sholar and Edward Teach filed suit against former employee Erik Van Peterson seeking more than $25,000 in damages. The lawsuit accuses Peterson of affixing labels containing QR codes to Edward Teach products at two Harris Teeter stores in Wilmington. The QR codes, the lawsuit says, linked to what it calls defamatory statements about Sholar.

Then, in early February, Sholar and Edward Teach filed a lawsuit against Nash, accusing her of defamation and of damaging the brewery's business. The suit seeks damages of more than $25,000 and an injunction against Nash, who original viral post is still up but is no longer pinned to the top of her page.

A friend of Nash has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for Nash to hire an attorney.

What's next?

"Gary’s defamation lawsuit against Madonna Nash continues, as does his suit for tampering against Erik Van Peterson," West said.

Court dates have not been scheduled for Sholar and Edward Teach's lawsuits against Peterson, which was filed in New Hanover County Superior Court, and against Nash, which was filed in Brunswick County Superior Court.

"There are no hearings scheduled in either case at the moment," Sholar's lawyer, Thomas Varnum of Wilmington's Brooks Pierce law firm, wrote in an email. "Peterson has been served and has been given an extension of time to respond to the complaint. Madonna Nash has been served, but her initial deadline to respond to our complaint isn’t until next month."

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Where things stand: Wilmington's Edward Teach Brewery controversy