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Scarlet Lane Brewing Co. LLC announced plans Tuesday to permanently close its Irvington tap room one year after taking over the former location of Black Acre Brewing Co.’s flagship bar.
Scarlet Lane will continue to operate a brewpub in McCordsville, where the company originated in 2014, and a tap room in Beech Grove.
In retrospect, Scarlet Lane CEO Eilise Lane said emotions guided the decision to expand to Irvington.
“We definitely wanted to be part of that neighborhood,” Lane told the IBJ in an interview that followed Scarlet Lane’s Facebook post announcing the closure. “We wanted to step in for Black Acre because we care for them so much. We had not realized the investments that needed to be made at that facility, because we decided to go into it so quickly.”
Lane said those expenditures were compounded by increasing labor costs and costs of goods.
Scarlet Lane’s Facebook post cited post-pandemic challenges for craft beer companies and the service industry.
“We are not alone in trying to navigate the stormy waters,” Lane wrote.
In early December, Scarlet Lane closed tap rooms in the Meridian-Kessler and Kennedy-King neighborhoods.
Since mid-December, three Indianapolis bars specializing in craft beer closed: Goodwood Brewing & Spirits, 140 S. Illinois St.; World of Beer Bar & Kitchen, 409 Massachusetts Ave.; and HopCat, 6280 N. College Ave.
Regarding the lingering effects of the pandemic, Lane said it’s not a matter of people being sick from the coronavirus.
“At this time, it’s the financial impact we are now seeing as a reckoning across the industry,” she said. “We were able to keep people in paychecks and keep people going while COVID was happening, and then we saw that rebound of the business for a year or so after. But the market has changed and that’s not what is still happening.”
Sunday will be Scarlet Lane’s last day of business in Irvington.
Lane said she’s confident the Scarlet Lane locations in McCordsville and Beech Grove are financially stable.
The company that bills itself as “the official beer of horror” showcases a Sammy Terry “dungeon” at its Hancock County location in McCordsville.
“One thing we have been working on since Scarlet Lane started 10 years ago is to own the property in McCordsville and develop it into an adult playland,” Lane said. “In 2019, we started working with the property owner and we recently finalized that purchase. We’re now working on building out additional restaurants and entertainment areas. We know to refocus and see what we’re doing is going to make sense for us.”
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Feels like the beer bubble has burst.
Will the giant beard trend go with it?
+1 it’s a bummer because this is the “perfect” brewery for that location considering the Halloween Festival.
Yes, peak craft beer has passed and the real business stuff matters now: quality, accessibility, visibility, marketing, ability to host events, food offerings, and management skill. “Just OK” doesn’t cut it.
Expect more closures with 10 year leases coming to an end.