Barley Forge Brewing Co. is closing

MT? They have their Anaheim location getting ready to open up in 2028. Just in time for the Summer Olympics swimming event. I don't think they'd have 2 locations in OC. If I was a betting man, and they did take over the BF location it would be open before the Anaheim location.

 

It's Green Cheek, look at the dockets:

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/30372151/Barley_Forge_Brewing_Company,_LLC

 

Green Cheek is the buyer / offer

 

Hot diggity dang. Good news.

 

What will Green Cheek get for the $725k? The brewing equipment?

 

As a big Green Cheek fan this is great news. Hopefully this ends up happening.

 

Nice find!

 

As long as the Batavia tasting room keeps getting Cocohut, I'm cool widit.

 

All very exciting if it happens. I'm curious to see what Evan and team will come up with for a food menu.

Also really hoping the original location stays open.

 

Agreed. Green Cheek in Costa Mesa is the best thing to happen to beer in Orange County since they opened their spot in the old Valiant building.

I'm genuinely curious how Barley Forge blames rising rents as the primary cause of their inability to continue, when presumably Green Cheek will inherit the same rent expenses yet it makes financial sense for them. I wasn't a huge fan of Barley Forge but that place was packed much of the time.

 

I hope Green Cheek gets it, but I honestly think someone else will come in and out bid them. I mean the liquor license, branding rights alone are worth a several hundred grand and there must be at least 400k in equipment that could be sold off. I have a feeling a big brewing company will come em and just buy them out and keep the shop running, but make it profitable. I mean the whole "rent" is too high issue is laughable as we all know Nylen is just leveraging he bankruptcy rights as a means to make yet more money without having to pay off his debts...

 

A turn key brewery, I would assume this is a hell of a lot easier then opening a brewery from scratch as far as permitting.

 

Same deal as when they took over Valiant (except with a ktichen). I believe it went really quickly since it was already built out as a brewery.

 

Yeah exactly that's why I have a feeling a big brewery will just gobble them up and put them on the books as another asset.

 

So Gunwhale started in Costa Mesa and opened their second location in Orange. Now Green Cheek started in Orange and will open their second location in Costa Mesa. Seems about right.

 

I don't think GC would have any interest in the branding, but would take over the lease and equipment. I understand the issue with the rent wasn't that it was just too high, but that BF used the space inefficiently (i.e., the revenue generating part of the property (the tasting room) was a small part of the leased property, and there was tons of unused/underused space being leased, which didn't make any business sense).

 

I'd be surprised, given that the motion for order approving the sale is set for hearing next week. I'll sit in and report back.

 

Permitting is probably in the $100-125K range so yeah much easier to start with an existing brewery.

 

I wonder if they'll get that giant military truck thing that was in the parking lot.

 

Sgt. Cheeky's Partybus