WILMINGTON — A local brewery’s management team has responded to its former owner’s arrest for alleged assault after two years of saga surrounding the business. Turns out earlier in the summer, some of their permits were canceled as well from the ABC Commission.
CATCH UP: Former Edward Teach owner arrested for assault of restaurant employee
Edward Teach Brewing released a statement on its socials Thursday, explaining the team was “surprised and saddened” after learning of 49-year-old Gary Sholar’s arrest for throwing a porcelain plate at a LongHorn Steakhouse employee’s head in July. The incident left the employee with seven stitches and a hairline fracture to the skull.
Sholar was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor assault inflicting serious injury, after he turned himself in. He made his $1,000 bond and has his first court appearance scheduled for Sept. 16.
“Like most of you, our employees first heard about that incident through yesterday’s news,” the Edward Teach post indicates.
Sholar opened the brewery in 2017 but transferred it to his sister, Amy Ottaway, on July 14, according to the brewery; it also posted a document sent to the ABC Commission showing ETB Trust was the owner. Edward Teach lawyer Thomas Varnum of Brooks Pierce confirmed with Port City Daily on Wednesday a trust was opened, making Ottaway the sole person to manage the company in mid-July.
PCD followed up with Varnum asking if Sholar remains a beneficiary of the trust, but didn’t hear back by press; the lawyer said Wednesday the firm wouldn’t be answering more questions about the ownership change.
According to the lawyer, the business transfer happened for “other reasons” besides the LongHorn incident. The ABC Commission informed PCD that Edward Teach Brewing’s malt beverage and fortified wine retail permits were canceled on June 2, 2025, due to fees not being paid.
“The Commission canceled permits for all retail businesses that had not paid their annual renewal fees for 2025 on June 2,” according to the commission’s public affairs director, Jeff Strickland.
He added this impeded Edward Teach’s ability “to sell or serve alcoholic beverages.” The brewery’s taproom has been closed in the interim and has a note on the door saying it’s undergoing renovations, also echoed on social media by the brewery team:
“Our taproom has been dark over these past several months, during this transition period — not because our passion for this place has faded, but because we’ve been quietly working behind the scenes to repair storm damage, restore our bar, and prepare for our new beginning.”
Strickland detailed the commission also received a violation report in May for an ineligible permittee at Edward Teach, “based on Mr. Sholar’s convictions.” He was referring to the misdemeanor charges Sholar pled to in 2024.
An ALE investigation found Sholar failed to superintend a business for which an ABC permit was issued and allowed disorderly conduct on the premises. The then-brewery owner pled guilty to the former and took an Alford plea for the latter — which is when a defendant accepts guilt without admitting wrongdoing and usually comes when the prosecution has enough evidence to hold a party accountable.
State statute details multiple qualifications to hold an ABC permit, one of which includes not having been convicted of an alcoholic beverage offense within two years, among others.
According to the ABC violation report — received after press — the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office asked about the status of Edward Teach’s permits in April 2025. Special agent J. Dzierzynski found multiple active permits: malt beverage on premise, unfortified wine on premise, brewery, malt beverage wholesaler and malt beverage special event and salesman.
“I conducted an electronic database search,” he wrote in the report, “and found Sholar was listed as the sole manager/permittee for the business and shown to have 100% interest in the business as per the Articles of Organization. Additionally, I found no new permit applications for Edward Teach Brewing that would list a different person as the permittee or manager.”
However, Strickland confirmed the ineligible permittee violation is now deemed closed since Edward Teach’s permits were canceled because of its unpaid dues: “I cannot predict if new ownership may apply for retail permits again in the future.”
According to Edward Teach, the business does plan to acquire ABC permits and was going to announce the new ownership after all paperwork and permitting was finalized. It also thanked in its post all employees for their patience and dedication:
“All we can do is move forward with integrity, kindness to all, and love for the city that has given us so much,” the social media post stated. “Wilmington is our home. You are our neighbors. And when we reopen, we hope you’ll see not just a brewery, but a team that remains ready to serve you, laugh with you, and be part of your stories again.”
The brewery had incurred damages in 2024, at least more than $25,000, according to a defamation lawsuit Sholar took out against musician Madonna Nash. It detailed the brewery endured financial decline from businesses pulling ET products from its shelves, as spurred by Nash’s viral social media post explaining an altercation between Sholar and Nash’s daughter, Asia Daye Norris. A local performer, Norris said Sholar communicated threats and assaulted her and her friend, Paige Grant, though Sholar has denied the claims.
This led to the ALE investigation and Sholar’s convictions. Though, he settled the lawsuit with Nash, in which she was required to remove the social media post and hosted a music fundraiser in the spring with Edward Teach Brewing, Norris and Grant have maintained their accounts of the night stand.
In addition to charges Sholar received from the ALE investigation, he was found in violation of North Carolina Administrative Code for intoxication by permittee prohibited, disorderly conduct prohibited, and intoxicated persons.
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