Another new brewery is opening up in Bristol this summer, which may not be surprising news considering the industry’s boom in recent years. But this is certainly the first brewery to open in a space that was originally meant as a showroom and warehouse for ergonomic dentistry chairs.

“That business still exists,” said Kevin Amaral, owner of the soon-to-open Vigilant Brewing Company and of RGP Ergonomic Seating, located at 44 Ballou Blvd in Bristol. “So we’re running two companies out of here…We were able to carve out about 3,000 square feet of what is about an 8,000 square foot building.”

RGP had been in business for over 25 years and has operated out of its Bristol location going on four years. When Covid hit, demand for chairs utilized within dentist offices declined, but they went into overdrive serving as a shipping and receiving warehouse supplying PPE and face masks to hospitals. Amaral said the company was moving up to two million masks each week at the height of the pandemic.

“Things just changed,” he said. “We didn’t really need the showroom anymore, which opened up quite a bit of space in the warehouse and the whole showroom.”

It was a moment of crisis, but also a moment of opportunity. Amaral had been making small batches of home brew in his brother-in-law’s garage for some time, and along with some other homebrewing enthusiasts — Luis Medeiros, Larry Medeiros, and Joe Dacosta — decided to venture into the industry for real, using the existing space at RGP for a whole new purpose.

They bought enough equipment to operate a five-barrel system, with an output potential similar to fellow Bristol brewery, Twelve Guns. They received town approval back in November of 2020, and are going before the state Department of Business Regulation today to receive what is essentially their final approval. Construction started in earnest back in February, and they hope to open the business on June 25 — which would hit their goal of being open prior to the Fourth.

The brewery has three brewers, John Otero, Chris Drance, and Michael Godet, all of who started off as home brewers. Drance used to work at Twelve Guns before joining the team, Otero has close to 30 years of home brewing experience and has assisted in the opening of numerous local breweries, and Godet is working as part of an internship program out of Johnson & Wales University.

“After his internship we hope and plan to keep him on with us,” Amaral said.

The name, vibe, and offerings
Amaral said the name Vigilant pays homage to Bristol’s rich sailing tradition, christened after the Vigilant sailing yacht designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, which won America’s Cup in 1893.

“The name represents a feeling of always being aware of the situation and staying ahead of the curve,” Amaral said. He said the taproom will feature a “classy, nautical vibe,” and the logo features a sharp sail-inspired design.

The brewery plans to be creative with its offerings, including IPAs, stouts, lagers and ambers.

“A wide variety that will accommodate everyone’s taste buds,” Amaral said. “There’s a lot of people out there to please.”

And a lot of competition in the local area, too. Vigilant joins the ranks of Twelve Guns Brewing, Six Pack Brewery, and Pivotal Brewing Company, which are already operating in Bristol. Elsewhere just in the East Bay region is The Guild in Warren, Ragged Island in Portsmouth, Taproot in Middletown, Buzzard’s Bay in Westport, and a trio of Newport locations. But Amaral said the brewery industry is unique when it comes to competition.

“In a normal business, like in my chair business, you have your competitors, but the brewing industry is more of a brotherhood,” he said. “The more breweries in town close to each other, the more beneficial it is for all of us…Most people that come to breweries, they’re coming from other towns. The more breweries we have in town, the more tourism we attract to the town. It’s not really competition at all, it’s friendship, it’s a bond, and we’re all in this together.”