COVA Brewing in Ocean View will keep you caffeinated and crafty with a unique coffee meets beer business model

Some mornings call for a classic cup of joe. Then there are those days better kicked off by a silky-smooth coffee stout bursting with bright, malty, espresso-rich goodness and weighing in at “it’s 5 o’clock somewhere” 6.3% ABV.
Good news: you can have your brew and get your drink on too at the new COVA Brewing Company in Norfolk’s East Ocean View, where a unique business model is offering patrons both freshly made gourmet coffee and house-brewed craft beer all day, almost every day (they’re closed on Tuesdays). The former automobile service station on Shore Drive, a stone’s throw from East Beach Marina, has been miraculously transformed into a bright, breezy modern space with a beachy-teal color scheme in which guests are greeted by a smiling barista on the right and a brewmaster on the left. Plenty of socially distanced and shaded outdoor seating was added as COVID-19 reality sunk in during the location’s buildout. COVA Brewing is the combined brain-child of Norfolk locals Susan and Scott Bateman, who had been looking to open a brewery in the area for several years, and Karla and Phil Smith, who recognized an opportunity in the market when they moved to East Beach from Ohio and noticed they couldn’t find a decent coffee shop nearby. A marriage made in coffee and beer-lovers heaven was born.

“We served our first beer at 9:30 this morning,” noted Phil Smith on a recent Thursday afternoon as he happily noshed on a scratch-made blueberry lemon pound cake from COVA’s pastry case and a just-brewed cup of coffee courtesy of beans from their Durham, North Carolina-based roaster, Counter Culture.