There are many reasons companies choose to leave their bases of operation or satellite venues, and a number of them are illustrated in our latest local news roundup. From a spot that worked out so well it gave way to even larger digs to an out-of-town underperformer and the biggest house on a beloved town’s boozy thoroughfare, catch up on three beer ops that are moving on…or trying to.
In 2020, Connecticut-based Athletic Brewing acquired Ballast Point Brewing’s 80,000-square-foot Trade Street location, a cross-street companion site to the company’s massive Carroll Way headquarters primarily utilized for sour-ale production and warehousing of barrel-aged beers. Under the direction of Athletic co-founders Bill Shufelt and John Walker, the facility was transformed for production of non-alcoholic beverages, and went on to play a pivotal role in the business growing into by far the largest producer of N/A brews in the country. That growth led Athletic to acquire Ballast Point’s aforementioned 107,000-square-foot HQ in 2024, providing it with far greater capacity – 750,000 barrels per year, doubling the companywide production ceiling to 1.2 million barrels – and allowing it to consolidate its operations under one roof. The Trade Street facility and the equipment within are currently on the market. Interested parties may view the property listing online. When reached for comment, Athletic representatives responded, “[Trade Street] played a significant role in the company’s growth – allowing Athletic to scale production, enter new markets, meet growing demand and reach millions of new customers. It will forever hold a place in Athletic Brewing’s history.”
Speaking of Ballast Point, last week the company’s current ownership group, which consists of local hospitality outfit RMD Group, VC group Cypress Ascendant and its CEO of the past six years Brendan Watters, shuttered its San Francisco brewpub. Located in the city’s Mission Bay neighborhood, the 12,500-square-foot venue was a holdover project from Constellation Brands, the beverage conglomerate that famously purchased Ballast Point from its original owners for an unprecedented $1 billion in 2015, then sold the company to Watters’ Kings & Convicts Brewing in 2019. Proximity to the Chase Center sports and entertainment arena lent to the venue’s appeal, but the location ultimately proved challenging, failing to bring customers in on a consistent basis due to a number of factors that included lack of parking. Though Ballast Point’s lease was not up, the company vacated, announcing its departure via social media. The closure leaves the 30-year-old craft-beer concern with two brewpub locations in downtown San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood and Long Beach, and its heavily patronized Downtown Disney bar and restaurant in Anaheim. Meanwhile, ownership is continuing its search for suitable sites in which to open new locations in San Diego County.
Over the past decade-and-a-half, Ocean Beach has become home to numerous breweries and brewing-company tasting rooms. The neighborhood’s perpetually laidback state and good-time vibes suit purveyors of adult beverages, making it the type of town many thriving beermaking businesses would want to inhabit. To date, the biggest barrier to that has been a lack of inventory, but that’s no longer the case. Recently, Novo Brazil Brewing opted not to renew the lease for its hard-kombucha taproom of six years, and now another Newport Avenue business, OB Brewery, is available. Opened in 2016 by the owner of since-closed craft-beer haven Newport Pizza & Ale House, the three-story, 4,600-square-foot brewery-equipped bar and eatery not only sports an incredible ocean view, but also has numerous accolades to its name, including a Very Small Brewpub of the Year win at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival. Though currently listed by a commercial real estate company, OB Brewery remains open and fully operational.