Night Shift Brewing cancels Philadelphia expansion

It would seem that we can count one more 'death' for the COVID-19 plague?

I must confess I personally never understood this business move from Night Shift but we are where we are.

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @NeroFiddled

 

The craft brewery scene in Philadelphia is still alive and well, as far as I can tell. Small breweries like Brewery ARS have been selling out of their offerings that are only available via curbside pickup.

I think that based on the pace that the market was growing, Night Shift would have been a welcome addition, even with a location off the beaten path. All they probably needed was a bit of marketing buzz when they opened. Based on the post, it sounds like they need to invest their cash in keeping their core business afloat.

 

I can't imagine them not scrapping this project given the current situation. Unfortunately that will leave me with only one brewery close to my house as Roxborough Brewing Company seems to be MIA.

 

I don't know what their vision is or was. It seemed like this was a personal project more than anything, though it may have allowed them to leverage some of the partnerships they have on the distribution side to expand that business too. I don't know how aligned those businesses are for them.

 

At times I have thought the same thing - getting back to some Philadelphia roots maybe?

That was an aspect I was uncertain about. Needless to say but I am not privy to their business plan but I wondered how much of their motivation to open this facility was the brewing business (i.e., making Night Shift beers available to the Philly area), the taproom business (kinda a weird location for this), or the distribution business (distributing local craft beer to retailers). Perhaps if we add all three of these 'sectors' it would result in a viable business? I suppose now we will never know?

Cheers!

@rotsaruch

 

Tough loss for Philly. Their distribution team is one of the best in the business and, from what I’ve experienced, PA could really use better distributors. Bummer.

They explained a lot of this in one of their press releases. I think one of the owners is from the area (or their family is) and when they first opened Night Shift it was down to Philly or MA. They make some good quality ales and lagers for a good price. Pennsylvanians know good beer; I think they would’ve done surprisingly well if things were different.

 

I'm not a big Night Shift fan. For the first couple of years, they had some major QC issues and some of their Barrel Society beers were absolutely atrocious. I do think that they've upped their quality significantly and they've been savvy with their sales strategy. I lived in Cambridge and every grocery store and liquor/beer store was always stocked with Night Shift. Whole Foods would have huge NS end caps. They admittedly have a good/fun taproom to hand out at. I thought it was smart of them to start a distributorship and expand beyond their own beers. In sum, I agree with your assessment that they would have done well.

 

Too bad, this would have been a nice addition and I was looking forward to it.

 

This makes sense. Hope the business stays on its feet. That being said, I'll reiterate comments about some questionable QC issues. I had a few Barrel Society beers that are among the worst I've ever tasted (I know these societies can tend towards the experimental, but it's still surprising to see a brewery charge money for some of that output). Their hazy and lighter fare is fine, but frankly it's not really a brewery-type that I think we need more of in the area. Troegs, Victory, and Yards already have the "mid-to-large brewery with a few reliable staples and a great taproom" thing down pretty well between them, in my opinion. Night Shift felt a little redundant.

 

New Ridge Brewing (previously referred to as Roxborough Brewing) is on track to open as soon as the shutdown is over. Something to look forward to!