CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A popular brewery in Charlotte's West End is shutting down in March. This comes amid rising commercial rents taking tolls on small businesses across the city.
On Saturday, Blue Blaze Brewing founder Craig Nunn shared a letter online announcing the businesses would close the weekend of March 8. The brewery and taproom located on South Turner Avenue opened its doors in 2016 and touted its beer made in smaller handcrafted batches.
“It’s a difficult message, to put out there, it’s a disappointing message, it’s not one someone ever wants to say," Nunn said in a phone interview with WCNC Charlotte.
While Blue Blaze is shutting down, Dunn's letter shared a sense of optimism that the brewery could find a new space at some point or join up with a friendly brewery in Charlotte.
"Our sincerest hope is that we can find a solution and a path forward in a new location and temporarily contract brew with one of our brewery friends in town. The search for these solutions to our challenges has and will continue in earnest. However, for now, we must unfortunately part ways from our current taproom," the letter said.
Nunn encouraged patrons to spend time at the brewery in the coming weeks and promised to share key memories on social media.
In 2022, Blue Blaze Brewing reportedly faced a steep rent hike proposed by Atlanta-based commercial real estate firm Portman Holdings. The brewery told the Charlotte Observer at the time the firm wanted to increase the rent by 376%.
This news comes six months after Catawba Brewing Company closed its doors. It's reportedly planning to open up shop again in South End this summer.
According to the Charlotte Independent Brewers Alliance, the Charlotte beer market has become tighter. Finding the right location can be hard due to the price of real estate and rising rents in commercial spaces.
“COVID really changed the market and dynamics of how and when things are done," Nunn said.
On top of the pandemic, the beer industry has been hit hard by inflation, supply chain distributions, people's drinking habits, and the fact that there are more beverages available for consumers, like hard seltzers.
The Charlotte Independent Brewers Alliance, says with the number of breweries that opened their doors in 2015-2017, many of them are on 10-year leases and their time will soon run out and rent increases will likely force more out of the industry.
That report came as other retail rents in the Charlotte area kept rising and forced businesses to close or relocate. Soul Gastrolounge in Plaza Midwood closed in July of that year, while Central Coffee Company shut down its South End location that May after the owner said their landlord hiked rent by 40%.
Nunn expressed his gratitude to everyone who has reached out or commented on their social media post. Their last day will be the weekend of March 8.
If anyone knows of a space available, Nunn asks that you reach out.