It was nearly a decade-and-a-half ago when Ron and Kathy Adams and their son Kyle threw open the doors to their family business, Prohibition Brewing. It was an ironic name for a brewpub serving up a large volume of house beers. But misnomer or not, the brewpub was a welcomed addition to Vista’s northernmost expanses, a faction that made up the bulk of the business’ regulars.
Despite boasting the highest concentration of brewing facilities of any local municipality other than the much-larger City of San Diego, the majority of Vista’s ale-and-lager producers were set up closer to the interstate bisecting the North County burg, State Route 78, helping to lend the artery its nickname as the “Hops Highway.” Prohibition provided residents of Vista’s upper outskirts something to call their own. Those are the individuals who are lamenting Prohibition’s announcement earlier this afternoon that it will close at the end of September.
The announcement was issued via the business’ social-media accounts and indicated that the Adams have decided to sell the business. The 6,687-square-foot brewpub is listed for sale on multiple online real-estate sites, but no deals have been solidified at this time. The announcement stated that “blowout sales” of kegs and cans will take place next week, and that staffing and hours will be limited. Details on the latter item were not provided.
“My parents have decided to sell the property in order to fully retire. We started back in 2011 and purchased the property at a low price. Now that we have built it up, there is enough equity to cash out,” says Kyle Adams. “It’s important to emphasize that we are doing this on our terms and on our timeline. We are not being forced to sell because a landlord raised our rent or partnerships are splitting. We are doing it because we want to. We also wanted to give our staff amble opportunity to transition to their next career smoothly. Many of them have been here for 5 years or more, with several exceeding 10 years.”
While Prohibition didn’t make a lot of noise during its 15 years in the San Diego craft-beer scene, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t appreciated or significant, especially for North Vista residents who considered it their local and kept it in business as long as they did, even through a global pandemic and particularly difficult times for American brewery owners.
The Adams believe Prohibition’s reputation as a staple in the community will carry over, saying it should be a “no-brainer” for new owners to be able to pick up where the founding family left off.
Prohibition Brewing is located at 2004 East Vista Way in Vista