Popular Indiana craft brewery Three Floyds has indefinitely closed its brewpub in Munster due to safety concerns caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the Guys Drinking Beer website.
The 24-year-old craft beer maker — the 31st largest by volume in 2019, according to trade group the Brewers Association — confirmed the closure in a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon.
“There’s no other way to put it — 2020 has sucked. We’ve been navigating this new world day by day and rolling with the punches it has thrown at us,” the company wrote. “The safety of our customers and staff is our first priority, and at this time, we do not have immediate plans to reopen 3 Floyds Brewpub for bar or dine-in service.”
Brewery founder Nick Floyd also confirmed the closure and furlough of brewpub staff, citing the novel coronavirus disease, with the Chicago Tribune.
“I can’t put people in danger; no one should die over a beer,” he told the Tribune. “I would die for beer and probably will, but I’m not going to make people endanger themselves.”
Floyd told the outlet that the brewpub could open in a year or two “in the future when it’s safe;” he also refuted rumors that the company was being sold.
Dine-in operations at Three Floyds’ brewpub ceased on March 15, as on-premise dining establishments closed in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.
A message seeking comment from Brewbound was unreturned.
Three Floyds’ indefinite closure of its brewpub came as restaurants in Lake County were allowed to reopen at 50% of capacity on Monday, and bars are set to reopen at half capacity on June 14, according to the Tribune.
Although the brewpub is closing, Three Floyds will continue brewing operations and offering “contactless beer, spirits, and merchandise pickup” curbside at the brewpub for products purchased through its online store seven days a week from noon to 6 p.m.
A post to Three Floyds’ Instagram account Tuesday evening showed a variety of “vintage variants and Dark Lord bottles” that will be made available via its online store for pickup in June.
Dark Lord, the brewery’s famed Russian-inspired imperial stout, was slated to be released at the annual Dark Lord Day on May 16, however, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to postpone the event to a yet-to-be-determined date.
In early 2018, Three Floyds made news for a large-scale expansion project to triple the size of its 57,000 sq. ft. Munster facility, with the company tapping Dallas-based HKS Architects, the firm responsible for the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium and Minnesota Vikings’ U.S.Bank Stadium. The future of that project remains unclear.
Last March, Three Floyds opened a second production facility to can its flagship Alpha King pale ale and Gumballhead wheat ale, among other offerings, NWI.com reported. The company also launched a distillery one year ago.
Mikkeller San Francisco For Sale
Three months after Mikkeller’s Los Angeles outpost closed, the company’s San Francisco location has also closed and is being offered for sale, according to Eater San Francisco.
The location is listed for $390,000 on the Restaurant Realty Company website, which also touts the bar’s $3.8 million in annual sales, $220,000 to $330,000 in net profits, and a Type 42 license, authorizing the sale of beer and wine for on- or off-premise consumption and does not require food service. Rent for the location is set at a non-negotiable $11,700.
“This 40 tap location created a beer lovers’ paradise, with the volume and profits to prove it,” the ad reads.
Mikkeller’s San Francisco outpost closed last week, citing “the financial strain of the pandemic,” SFGate reported. The location is co-owned by Chuck Stilphen, who also co-owned the LA location, and said he is “getting out of the business.”