Downtown restaurant changes name to honor grandfather and local veterans

Tina Adkins, Sun Journal
·3 min read
Beer Army Gastropub recently changed its name to Poppys Bites and Barrels
Beer Army Gastropub recently changed its name to Poppys Bites and Barrels

A popular downtown eatery has changed its name in honor of the owner's late grandfather, Ben DeFonce.

Beer Army Gastropub is now Poppy's Bites and Barrels. The restaurant is located in downtown New Bern at 313 Pollock St.

Owner Buddy Bengel said the name is the first phase of other changes he plans to make to the business.

"We will be doing some remodeling on the inside of the business," Bengel said. "The changes are expected to be completed in early April. We are doing a full kitchen renovation, adding new tables, moving the bathrooms and doing other work to the interior of the restaurant. There are going to be a lot of fun changes".

Bengel said he came up with the name when searching for a way to honor his late grandfather.

"I was very close with my grandfather who passed away in September and I really wanted to do something to honor him," Bengel said.

He said he was talking to a friend who owns a bakery in Washington, D.C and she recommended finding something that was really close to Bengel in his search for a new name.

"I googled synonyms for Poppy," Bengel said. "I didn't know that the national symbol for service members killed in action was the poppy flower. I thought it was such a really cool name and a cool thing, not to mention the program is actually called the Buddy Poppy program which is really symbolic. My name is Buddy and my grandfather went by Poppy. It just fit so well together. I couldn't have asked for anything better."

Ben DeFonce was the grandfather of Buddy Bengel, owner of Poppy's Bites and Barrels, formerly Beer Army Gastrohub in downtown New Bern.
Ben DeFonce was the grandfather of Buddy Bengel, owner of Poppy's Bites and Barrels, formerly Beer Army Gastrohub in downtown New Bern.

According to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (www.vfw.org), the Buddy Poppy program provides compensation to the veterans who assemble the poppies, provides financial assistance in maintaining state and national veterans' rehabilitation and service programs and partially supports the VFW National Home For Children.

The name Buddy Poppy was registered in February 1924 with the U.S. Patent Office and a certificate was issued on May 20, 1924, granting the organization all trademark rights in the name of Buddy under the classification of artificial flowers. The VFW have made that trademark a guarantee that all poppies bearing that name and the VFW label are genuine products of the work of disabled and needy veterans. No other organization, firm or individual can legally use the name Buddy Poppy.

Bengel added that his grandfather was one of his heroes.

"He was a two purple heart bronze star Marine and served in some of the world's greatest battles in Marine Corps history," Bengel said. "That was one of his biggest things, making sure that people don't ever forget veterans and make sure they honor veterans and say thank you."

BengeI said he wanted to do something really nice for his grandfather in his memory and to honor him and that is how he chose the name.

The restaurant also wanted to be known for something other than burgers which is why the name was changed to Beer Army Burger Company to Beer Army Gastropub a few years ago.

"We started having people asking if we served anything other than beer," Bengel said, sharing that was also part of the reason for the name change.

Bengel owns the restaurant however the name is owned by Dustin Canestorp who was the founder of Beer Army. Canestorp is no longer part of the business which is another reason why the name was changed.

Poppy's Bites and Barrels features a modern twist on southern classic food and features unique cocktails, bourbon, wine, and beer. The restaurant also has its own signature whiskey made by Maker's Mark, BA1: For the Fallen. Upon its release, it sold out in less than five hours at all local ABC stores.

More: New Bern special whiskey from Marker's Mark only available locally

Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday and Wednesday through Sunday.

For more information, visit 252-288-5814 or visit bitesandbarrels.com.

Reporter Tina Adkins can be reached by email at tadkins@newbernsj.com. Please consider supporting local journalism by signing up for a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: New Bern's Beer Army Gastropub restaurant changes name honor veterans