House 6 Brewing Closing...

Discussion in 'Mid-Atlantic' started by baldmanbeer, Aug 23, 2023.

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  1. baldmanbeer

    baldmanbeer Initiate (135) Jul 18, 2023 Virginia

    I just found out that House 6 Brewing Company in Ashburn, Virginia is closing up shop in September. In July they announced on Instagram that they were changing their hours, being closed Mondays & Tuesdays, to which I asked them in the comments if this is the beginning of closing. I had seen other local breweries announce similar changes, hell Anchor announced the end of out of state distribution and then the end of Christmas beer before the end. Horrible signs.

    This has all got me thinking... why don't more breweries sound the alarm when they begin to see the slide towards closing? Why not use social media to ring the alarm bells for the craft beer community? I'm not saying that they need to beg and plead for customers, but the craft beer community has always been one that has shown that they can come together and pitch in, why not lean into it?

    I am sure that if any of the craft breweries that have decided that they had to close due to slipping sales or lower income, could start making some noise earlier. I know myself, that had I known that 3 of my local breweries were seeing the end, I would have made at least 5 or 6 more visits to buy cans, or crowlers or growlers and such and I know I can't be the only person in the area that wouldn't have stepped up to help out.

    I also have to believe that in some areas, there has to be the craft beer drinker who dreams of owning or investing in a brewery and would have loved to jump at the chance to invest 10k or so to help out and starting living their dreams....

    I guess this latest rash of craft brewery closures is starting to bug me, because I know as a community, we all can help, we just need to know that help is needed before the final death blow has been applied.

    Eh, I guess I am just sad is all....
     
    #1 baldmanbeer, Aug 23, 2023
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  2. ashellen

    ashellen Crusader (449) Mar 26, 2009 Virginia

    Sorry to see another close up shop. No idea what happened to House 6, often times this ends up being a landlord / tenant issue, where landlord sees a "profitable" business (who may be popular but is still paying on significant upfront costs) and decides to significantly raise the rent which would take away any profit margin the business is realizing.

    But I do have a couple of general thoughts -

    They likely wait to make any announcements to hold on to staff as long as they can. If staff finds out they will likely look for other jobs, and good luck hiring people when they know the doors are closing.

    A few people jumping in to buy cans/growlers/crowlers wont save a sinking ship. It may give them a week or two but it wont turn anything around. At some point you have to come to the realization that its not salvageable.

    A lot of the breweries in NOVA make mediocre (or in many instances less than mediocre) beer and have a sterile industrial park location with limited residential uses around it. This is a hard way to draw a crowd. So then they rely on the same tricks others are doing - trivia night, bingo, food trucks (most of the time bbq or tacos), maybe a local singer doing the (same) cover songs - but nothing new or unique. As the mediocre beer sits around it deteriorates and becomes less drinkable, and probably should be dumped (which is hard to do when funds are tight). Sometimes the brewery will add new beers which compounds the mediocre and old beer issue. This is a hard sell when people are asked to spend $7 - $10 a pour and 2 or 3 other breweries have opened up that are likely closer to their home, have a nice outdoor space and/or make better beer.

    All of the above make it really unattractive to any potential investor, as they are wanting a ROI. If they were able to jump in and make changes to improve the situation, they could likely find an equal or better location that isn't tainted with the closing place's reputation.
     
    #2 ashellen, Aug 23, 2023
    VABA and baldmanbeer like this.
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