After a three year hiatus, Chicago craft beer lovers will soon be able to patronize the Lagunitas Brewing Company taproom again.
The taproom and “beer sanctuary” – located within Lagunitas 300,000 sq. ft. brewery in the city’s Douglas Park neighborhood – will reopen April 13, according to a press release. The location has been closed since March 2020 due to on-premise restrictions and stay-at-home orders from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve missed our Windy City friends and family, who have been waiting and asking for this day to come,” Lagunitas CMO Paige Guzman said in the release. “All I can say is thank you for your patience and welcome back.
“Reopening the TapRoom was no easy feat, but it was a labor of love,” Guzman continued. “I’m proud of our incredible team who worked tirelessly to make this happen and reopen our doors to our fans once again.”
The Chicago taproom was originally scheduled to reopen in Q4 2022, but was delayed following the closure of Lagunitas’s Seattle location so the company’s director of retail operations could “close Seattle down with grace,” Guzman told Brewbound in December. The Seattle taproom was shut down January 9, as the company “couldn’t get the economics to work” with expensive rent and changing consumer habits.
The taproom will be open Thursday through Sunday. The location features 32 draft lines that will pour year-round offerings such as Lagunitas IPA and A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’, as well as non-alcoholic (NA) options such as Hoppy Refresher and IPNA. Seasonal and taproom-exclusive pours will also be available, according to the release.
“Our doors are open to all kinds and creeds; punk rockers, misfits, Ivy Leaguers, weirdos, Waldos, Sparkle Ponies, and everything in between,” Lagunitas “brewmonster” Jeremy Marshall said in the release. “Come as you are. We always have a spot for you at our bar.”
Lagunitas also operates a taproom in Petaluma, California. The brewery’s Portland, Oregon taproom and “community room” shuttered in 2019.
The taproom reopening allows Lagunitas to once again use the space as a testing ground for innovation products, a strategy it used for offerings such as Disorderly TeaHouse and Hoppy Refresher, Guzman previously told Brewbound. Such a resource could be vital for Lagunitas, which has recorded significant year-over-year (YoY) dollar sales and volume losses in recent scan data.
Lagunitas dollar sales in multi-outlet plus convenience channels declined -14.4% YoY through February 26, a decline of nearly $3.75 million, according to the market research firm Circana (formerly IRI). Volume for the brand, measured by case sales, declined -19.6%, the largest volume decline recorded by the top 25 vendors in Circana-tracked channels.