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ORAL HISTORY

David Gott

Legend Brewing Company

David “Dave” Gott is the Operations Manager for Legend Brewing Company in the Manchester neighborhood of Richmond, VA. A native Richmonder, Dave grew up in a tight-knit family in what is now the Museum District. He first learned about beer from working at The Fan Market in high school and in college. After college, Dave taught school, went into the United States Peace Corps in Nepal, and worked for the ITT Technical Institute and the National Science Foundation in Antarctica. When he was looking for another career, Dave transitioned to working for a beer distributor as a brand manager. He found the beer business “addictive,” so he continued in the industry after his position ended at the beer distributor. Dave moved to Legend Brewing Company in 1996, when the brewery existed only as a small tasting room in the basement of the building. Dave remembers when Manchester was an industrial neighborhood. Many of the bar’s regulars were folks coming off of their shifts at what was Reynolds Aluminum and other factories in the area. Legend has also been a tourist destination in the city since its inception, as one of the few breweries that lasted in Richmond until the early 2010s. Many brewers came through Legend who went on to start their own breweries in the area. Dave likes a lot of Legend’s beers but particularly enjoys a lager.