Last April, the owners of Five Suits Brewing put their old Vegas-themed brand and brewery on the market. The decision to sell the Vista business came when co-founder (and former American Homebrewers Association Homebrewer of the Year) Nick Corona’s father was diagnosed with cancer. Despite being debt-free and having a lease running through September 2025, Nick – and his co-founding business partner and former spouse, Kandy – felt it was best to find a buyer as quickly as possible so he would be able to attend to family matters.
Fourteen months later, Five Suits is still open, and the aforementioned lease is nearing its expiration date. While Nick and Kandy have the option of reupping for another five years, that is not something they wish to do. They are ready to move on and even have a pair of blowout farewell parties planned for the evenings of Friday, July 25 and Saturday, July 26. Those fetes, which will feature a variety of live-music shows, were set to mark the end of an era, as well as the beginning of a new one.
After more than a year of vetting potential buyers, Nick and Kandy were thrilled to have found one that was interested, not only in preserving the Five Suits brand, but also in taking it to the next level. It was a best-case scenario they were excited to announce, but last week they were informed by their landlord that the would-be purchasers did not qualify to lease Five Suits’ 6,600-square-foot industrial-park unit. The news was devastating as, with such a short fuse on their lease, they are now without time to find another buyer. As such, it is most likely that the couple will need to auction off their assets as they prepare to move out, marking the end of a company much beloved by its many regulars.
Founded in 2020, the Coronas opened Five Suits at the onset of the pandemic. The business’ casino-lounge motif was set to play a major role in winning over potential customers, but public venues had been shut down in California due to government-mandated COVID-19 regulations. This left the Coronas to wow people based solely on the quality of their first-draft beers and the promise of Sin City and Rat Pack vibes down the road.
Despite the challenges, Five Suits was a hit behind a wide-ranging array of beers (including former 2016 National Homebrew Competition best-of-show hefeweizen, Pit BOS) and the members of the Corona family that dished them out, first via no-contact pickups, and eventually in a taproom that, with lush velvet curtains, a stage, casino game tables, vintage showgirl costumes and more, really drove home the company’s thematic. Fans were so enamored with the business that their votes earned Five Suits Best New Brewery and Best Customer Service awards at the 2021 San Diego Beer News Awards.
The hours of operation for Five Suits’ last week in business will be 3 to 10 p.m. on Fridays, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, 3 to 10 p.m. on Monday, and 3 to 8 p.m. on Thursday. Tickets for Friday’s celebration, which will start at 6 p.m. and feature both a sword-swallower and dueling pianos, can be purchased online. Tickets for Saturday’s “final curtain call”, featuring Led Zeppelin Tribute Band Custard Pie, can be purchased here.
Five Suits Brewing is located at 2575 Pioneer Avenue in Vista