About Us
WHYM Brewpub and Restaurant, Hampton NH
What is WHYM? WHYM stands for Water, Hops, Yeast and Malt, the four basic ingredients of any well crafted beer!
But WHYM is more than a whymsical play on words. At WHYM, we’re all about creating an enjoyable and memorable experience for people who share our passion for amazing craft beer, artisan cocktails and delectable cuisine. We emphasize quality, congeniality and creativity in everything we do, from our new spins on craft beer to our tasty twists on comfort food.
Our Story
WHYM is owned and managed by Alex Aviles, Matthew Barrett and Bob Levine, and run by a team of the most talented and gracious hosts, servers, bartenders and chefs we could ever find.
Alex, with his wife Gretchin, opened WHYM in 2013 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. WHYM later moved to its current location in Hampton, where Matt and Bob joined Alex in partnership… But our dreams and skills were shaped long before…
Alex and Matt grew up together in New Hampshire and poured sweat, blood and tears into their early jobs in the corporate world. They gained valuable ethics and managerial experience, but always had an itch to pursue their true passion: becoming part of the growing craft beer industry.
While working in Maine, Alex was able to effortlessly feed his passion for craft beer. He met some great beer aficionados who introduced him to the local beer community. This demonstrated how passion breeds success. He seized an opportunity to work under Chris Lively, owner of Lion’s Pride and Ebenezer’s Pub, recipient of the World’s Best Beer Bar award from Beer Advocate. Alex started out as a bartender and worked his way up to manager of Lion’s Pride.
Loving the experience of serving and teaching others about beer, Alex continued to road trip with friends to Vermont, northern Maine, and other faraway places in search of great beer and brewpubs. On one of those trips, it dawned on him…why couldn’t his home state of New Hampshire have a place for beer lovers, too? When the time was right, he and his wife, Gretchin, ventured back to the Granite State and opened WHYM.
When Alex opened Whym, Matt Barrett was well underway with his career as a brewer for Moat Mountain and later at Great Rhythm on the seacoast. So it was only natural that Matt – Alex’s long time friend – would come on board to spearhead the brewing operations.
Bob Levine spent his first career as a lawyer. A beer lover and homebrewer, Bob found his way to Whym early on. As one of our favorite regulars, Bob and Alex enjoyed chatting about beer. After a 40 plus year legal career, Bob was looking forward to retirement, So Alex invited Bob to join forces, and the rest is beer history.
Over the years, we’ve developed a reputation for staying in front of beer trends. We’ve added top-notch bartenders and chefs to round out our offering with artisan cocktails, new American food and lighter fare. We’ve also become known as a place for great live music and other entertainment.
Our passion for doing what we love has culminated in cherished memories and relationships. Patrons have become friends. Employees have become family. The New Hampshire seacoast has become a community we love and support with all of our heart, soul and cheers!
