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Meet the entrepreneur who kicked off the craft beer craze in Old Towne Orange

March 24, 2023

Old Town Orange is a semi-preserved historic area in Orange County. The neighborhood is quaint. Yet, surprisingly, it boasts several chef-driven dining concepts. Why would these places choose to open in Orange? If you ask locals, it all started with a place called Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar.

For years, the drinking scene around the area was lackluster. Then Wil Dee helped revolutionize what was being poured in Orange County. If you ask Dee, he refers to that time as the dark ages of bartending.

“If you didn’t have a creative bartender, especially in Orange County,” says Dee, “that Old Fashioned would be a bright red cherry, a sugar packet-muddled drink that was half soda water.”

That wasn’t good enough for Dee. When he opened Haven in 2009, he vowed that his place would be different.

“Things were static – as far as the spirits, wine, beer selection,” says Dee. “Things didn’t stay or move. It was just maintaining rather than being creative.”

Haven began as a gastropub and is now dubbed a craft kitchen and bar. Though its moniker changed over the years, one thing remained constant: Haven is celebrated for its craft beer and spirit selection.

Dee followed Haven’s success and opened another shop in Old Towne Orange called Provisions, a cafe, coffee, beer and wine shop. In 2016, he co-founded Chapman Crafted Beer & Coffee, which brews microcraft beer and roasts specialty coffee right in Orange.

As Dee’s beverage footprint grew, the city’s advancement also became important to him. Dee serves on the executive board for the Orange Chamber of Commerce and sits as vice president of the Orange County Brewers Guild. Beyond his civic responsibilities, Dee flies out to Louisville to taste special whiskeys blended by the famous Kentucky distiller Woodford Reserve for his O.C. restaurant.

“So tasting, that’s the fun part of it,” he says.

We caught up with Dee to learn what ignited his passion for beer and how Haven stays relevant as Old Towne Orange evolves.

Whiskey barrels inside the tasting room at Chapman Crafted Beer & Coffee in Orange on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. Will Dee is the founder and CEO of Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar, Provisions cafe-coffee-beer-wine-shop and founding partner of Chapman Crafted Beer & Coffee, all are located in Old Towne Orange. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The tasting room at Chapman Crafted Beer & Coffee in Orange on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. Dee is the founder and CEO of Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar, Provisions cafe-coffee-beer-wine-shop and founding partner of Chapman Crafted Beer & Coffee, all are located in Old Towne Orange. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Chapman Crafted Beer & Coffee in Orange on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. Will Dee is the founder and CEO of Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar, Provisions cafe-coffee-beer-wine-shop and founding partner of Chapman Crafted Beer & Coffee, all are located in Old Towne Orange. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Wil Dee pictured in the tasting room at Chapman Crafted Beer & Coffee in Orange on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. Dee is the founder and CEO of Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar, Provisions cafe-coffee-beer-wine-shop and founding partner of Chapman Crafted Beer & Coffee, all are located in Old Towne Orange. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The brewing room at Chapman Crafted Beer & Coffee in Orange on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. Dee is the founder and CEO of Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar, Provisions cafe-coffee-beer-wine-shop and founding partner of Chapman Crafted Beer & Coffee, all are located in Old Towne Orange. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The interior of Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar and located in the Old Towne Orange area in Orange on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The interior of Provisions Deli & Bottle Shop located in Old Towne Orange in Orange on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar and located in the Old Towne Orange area in Orange on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The interior of Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar and located in the Old Towne Orange area in Orange on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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What ignited your love for beer?

When I left Stubrik’s [Steakhouse & Bar], I went to Europe for two months. We visited so many countries around Europe. You get to taste so many different beers. That was my thing. We went to France, and when it came to Germany it was time for Oktoberfest. … The beer there had a difference in the flavor, texture. That was the start.

When I got back, I worked at Taps where they brew their own beer. Victor Novack wrote the book about brewing those particular styles. And that helped me build Haven, as far as the beverage program and that creativity.

Haven was one of the first places in Orange County to serve specialty beers and spirits. Why did you choose to do that when everyone seemed happy imbibing from the well?

It became one of those guiding principles, you have a product made by a company. You know what you’re going to get in terms of the quality.

At Haven, let’s have a draft list that’s a variety of styles. Fourteen years ago, you’d go into a place and a basic list would look like Bud Light, Coors Light, Stella, Amstel Light and maybe Heineken. Ultra was a big thing back then too. But all the styles were the same. That was the variety you’d see everywhere. It was just lagers.

How did you get people to try something new?

When I put my tap list here, people used to say, “Oh you have weird beer here. You don’t have American beer.”

And then, I’d say, “Actually, we have a beer made by someplace down here.”

We get a lot of new people and new faces around here. A lot of them asked for macro brands, but it’s no longer the case.

You also brew your own beer at Chapman Crafted. How did that begin?

Haven expanded into a place in Pasadena in 2011. That place had brewing equipment. So I reached out to a colleague and he had someone who was an independent craft home brewer. I met Chapman’s current brewer the year before during San Francisco beer week. He moved down here and applied for the job. My friend Randy [Nelson] wanted to come up with a production brewery and what’s left is Chapman Crafted.

Why did you open in Old Towne Orange?

We found a place in the city and Lisa Camp and our city manager at the time was like we want you in this property. It will be good for the local economy. A lot of it had to do with the principles that were put in place at Haven.

Speaking of Haven, now that craft beer and brown spirits are so common, how do you stay relevant?

People’s palates are more accustomed to craft beers and brown spirits. It worked out great for us because we always had a large hard alcohol selection – hard whiskey, gin; even our wine list is a 10-time Wine Spectator wine list.

This story is part of a collection of stories printed Sunday, March 26, 2023.
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Meet the entrepreneur who kicked off the craft beer craze in Old Towne Orange

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