It’s a sight that’s becoming all too routine for fans of local breweries: a piece of letter-sized paper tacked to the front door of their favorite venue bidding them adieu. That was what a local beer enthusiast came upon when he went to visit Thorn Brewing’s Mission Hills satellite tasting room earlier this week.
To our cherished patrons, family and friends, It is with heavy hearts that we must announce our upcoming closure of Thorn Mission Hills on July 28th, due to our landlord not renewing our lease. Thank you for your support and friendship over the last 5 years. We loved being part of this amazing community.
Thorn’s leaders were excited about giving Mission Hills its first-ever brewery-owned venue when its satellite launched in 2019. Sited on Hawk Street steps from community main drag Washington Street, the previously nondescript, 1,400-square-foot space was transformed into a homey clubhouse of sorts with a U-shaped bar, vintage banquettes, arcade-style games and a patio that was ideal for people-watching.
The company, which debuted in North Park as Thorn Street Brewery in 2013, and flourished in large part care of the word-of-mouth created at its original location, continues to adhere to the cornerstone tenet of cementing itself into a community and providing residents and visitors alike a quality product and experience. If ownership had its way, they would continue to do so in Mission Hills, but as noted above, it was out of the company’s hands.
Enter another all-too-familiar trend in San Diego’s brewing industry: landlords calling shots resulting in beer company’s moving or shuttering their operations altogether. Recent examples spanning the entire county include Second Chance Beer Co., which was unable to negotiate a lease extension at its Carmel Mountain Ranch headquarters of nine years, Breakwater Brewing, which had the brewpub it operated for 16 years sold out from under it, and Creative Creature Brewing, which was sent packing from the space it shared with URBN Pizza in El Cajon. When announcing his company’s exodus from its home of six years, the latter’s owner, Derek Carnation, said” The landlord has given [us] the boot, so sadly, this is the end of this location.”
This greatly contrasts with landlords’ opinions on craft breweries around a decade ago. Back then, property owners built and zoned facilities specifically for brewing companies and other beverage producers, luring them with favorable lease conditions. But as members of the industry have struggled amid myriad challenges, including COVID-19, rising wages and cost of goods, a tough economy and waning consumer demand, those same landlords have turned on the companies they once courted, dramatically raising rent (often to double or even higher existing rates), as they seek to replace breweries with tenants they deem more bankable.
An example of this can be found at the Miralani Makers’ District. So named for its dense population of beer, cider, mead, wine and sake producers (including 2kids Brewing, Align Brewing, Protector Brewery and Thunderhawk Alements), it thrived early on, attracting droves of tour groups and casual visitors eager to partake in day-long imbibing adventures. But at some point, the same landlord that owned the industrial park suites making up the District and had seen fit to heavily market it, began pricing out its tenants as their leases came up for renewal. Today, the only brewery that remains is Protector.
Thorn Brewing’s tasting room is located at 4026 Hawk Street in Mission Hills