“The raiders were using dynamite and even cyanide poisons to harvest fish,” he said. Thai park rangers were tasked with protecting these fishing grounds, which were constantly harassed by fishing boats from Malaysia and other countries. ![]() ![]() Aubrey Davis’ Peace Corps assignment landed him on remote coastal islands rich in fishing resources. It was during one of those breaks where the Brewing Station concept began to take form. The two maintained contact, seeing one another at Peace Corps meetings and R&R breaks. The training complete, the two were assigned to polar ends of Thailand, with Reece and Mackenzie heading north and Davis assigned to a string of islands along Thailand’s southern coast, an area not too distant from Malaysia. In Bangkok, Davis and Reece remained in close contact during three months of immersion training, where they lived with Thai families learning language, customs and other facets of what would become their home for two years. As Reece remembers, “We hit it off right away.” When their training was over, the two of them and another future Brewing Station player, Tina Mackenzie, were Thailand bound. Peace Corps orientation and training was held in San Francisco, where the two first met. Davis wished to pursue water projects Reece had become interested in finding ways to generate income for primary schools in underdeveloped countries, particularly though lunch programs. The two young men did not know each other, but they both were called to join the Peace Corps. Davis hailed from NC State, Reece graduated from Boston University. Reece had a background in applied physiology while Davis was educated as mechanical engineer interested in rural water generation. In 1991, Davis and his OBBS partner, Eric Reece, were newly minted college graduates. Elizabeth City was a major port in those days, and Davis’ grandfather, then four or five, met the famous pair loading their gliders for the trip to Kitty Hawk while his great-grandfather was picking up supplies at the same River City dock.įor Davis, however, the images of the remote and open areas of the Outer Banks would remain and later resurface in a conversation that brought the other major actor in this story to our barrier island. First of three partsĭavis’ grandfather actually met Orville and Wilbur Wright in 1902. And in what is not an unusual story line for this section of the Tar Heel State, we discover just how much social interaction existed between the Outer Banks and its neighbors to the north. His grandparents lived in Hertford and summers spent there included frequent trips to the Outer Banks. The other brings two future partners together in San Francisco on their way to Thailand and a two-year stint with the Peace Corps.Īubrey Davis, one of the future entrepreneurs, spent many a summer in these environs. One path begins in Hertford and the summers spent in northeast North Carolina by one of the founding pair. It follows two paths that eventually merge into a risky, but ultimately successful venture. ![]() The background of the founders and other key players informs the entire concept of what is arguably an OBX icon. The behind-the-scenes story of the Brewing Station is as fascinating as the evolution of the restaurant itself. Ten years later, that conversation from half way around the world would bring the incarnation of the Outer Banks Brewing Station, and 10 more years down the road the OBBS would celebrate its 10th anniversary, a milestone for any restaurant or pub, even more so in the fickle and competitive Outer Banks restaurant market. There, on Christmas 1991 over “cheap Thai rum” and a day of playing cards, two Peace Corps workers began to formulate the idea of a partnership. Seventy miles off the southern coast of Thailand, along an archipelago in the Andaman Sea, lies Koh Tarutao island. OBX Brewery concept began on a Far East island Eric and Aubry
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