Wow only 99k. The brewing equipment is probably worth more than that (or at least was a couple years ago)
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Equipment and fixtures show a value of around 200K in the listing. This would be tempting if we weren't almost certainly headed into a recession or worse.
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Looks like UCBC is being purchased by a Ladue, MO investor. Interesting to note that both Schlafly and AB In-Bev were approached for a combined operation/sale, respectively.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/business/local-investor-to-buy-urban-chestnut-brewery-following-bankruptcy/article_80c1b0d8-e954-11ef-9bc2-f30122fb6afd.html
They also had conversations with Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch, New Realm Brewing, Artisanal Brewing Ventures, a mix of breweries operating for Ulysses Capital and Greenleaf Capital Partners with no results.
The German location will be liquidated to help pay off debt. The real question for me is will the Compton/Washington location stay open. This is one of my favorite places in St. Louis. The Grove location is likely the one most people prefer...not I. The brewing capacity and location is probably priority in the Grove.
Anyhow, happy they will keep plugging along. That said, with Wellspent up for sale, and Earthbound closing, who's next? All you legalized pot heads don't buy beer anymore? Kidding.
Will Perennial, Alpha, Civil Life, 2nd Shift, Blue Jay, Schlafly, Brick River, Rockwell, Bluewood, Modern, Heavy Riff, 4-Hands survive? I hope we keep this scene going. It is special and unique to a city of <300K people.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/business/local-investor-to-buy-urban-chestnut-brewery-following-bankruptcy/article_80c1b0d8-e954-11ef-9bc2-f30122fb6afd.html
They also had conversations with Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch, New Realm Brewing, Artisanal Brewing Ventures, a mix of breweries operating for Ulysses Capital and Greenleaf Capital Partners with no results.
The German location will be liquidated to help pay off debt. The real question for me is will the Compton/Washington location stay open. This is one of my favorite places in St. Louis. The Grove location is likely the one most people prefer...not I. The brewing capacity and location is probably priority in the Grove.
Anyhow, happy they will keep plugging along. That said, with Wellspent up for sale, and Earthbound closing, who's next? All you legalized pot heads don't buy beer anymore? Kidding.
Will Perennial, Alpha, Civil Life, 2nd Shift, Blue Jay, Schlafly, Brick River, Rockwell, Bluewood, Modern, Heavy Riff, 4-Hands survive? I hope we keep this scene going. It is special and unique to a city of <300K people.
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Agreed - love the UCBC Midtown location. I love the nestled patio. It probably is my overall favorite Brewery experience. Unfortunately I’ve been there on a couple summer friday/saturdays where crowds were a little sparse. I think the issue, compared to the Grove location, is people don’t think of it as an area to hop around or have a second place to go to. I’d love to see more promotion of that area as a patio brewery district - UCBC, hopefully Wellspent, Schafly, Blue Jay, Brick River. These breweries all have great vibes in cool spaces. I can’t believe as a collective it hasn’t become a more “hip” spot to hang out. Locust street grabbing a couple more nightlife spots, more shows in Grand Center and of course more residents may help the popularity of the breweries in the area.MarkGroth2020 wrote: ↑Feb 12, 2025Looks like UCBC is being purchased by a Ladue, MO investor. Interesting to note that both Schlafly and AB In-Bev were approached for a combined operation/sale, respectively.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/business/local-investor-to-buy-urban-chestnut-brewery-following-bankruptcy/article_80c1b0d8-e954-11ef-9bc2-f30122fb6afd.html
They also had conversations with Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch, New Realm Brewing, Artisanal Brewing Ventures, a mix of breweries operating for Ulysses Capital and Greenleaf Capital Partners with no results.
The German location will be liquidated to help pay off debt. The real question for me is will the Compton/Washington location stay open. This is one of my favorite places in St. Louis. The Grove location is likely the one most people prefer...not I. The brewing capacity and location is probably priority in the Grove.
Anyhow, happy they will keep plugging along. That said, with Wellspent up for sale, and Earthbound closing, who's next? All you legalized pot heads don't buy beer anymore? Kidding.
Will Perennial, Alpha, Civil Life, 2nd Shift, Blue Jay, Schlafly, Brick River, Rockwell, Bluewood, Modern, Heavy Riff, 4-Hands survive? I hope we keep this scene going. It is special and unique to a city of <300K people.
https://10best.usatoday.com/awards/trav ... city-2025/
Speaking of our brew scene:
-we are currently second for usa today best awards for “Beer City”
-Side Project is 8th in “Beer Bar” and 11th in “Brew Pub”
-Anheuser Busch is 3rd for “Brewery Tour”
Zoo and City Museum are nominees for categories too
So go vote us up for some good pub at the link!
Id really love to see us go all in on being the beer capital. Getting the Lemp redeveloped with some component for a new brewery and brewery museum, getting Falstaff complex at Shenandoah/Lemp redeveloped in some way, adding a beer garden downtown like in the gateway mall, and leveraging our caves under the Benton Park/Soulard/Cherokee area for tours, speakeasys, taprooms, etc would be the things that would take us to the top of the beer world. Losing earthbound’s cave tours hurt.
Hoping some investors are ready to make these things happen!
We went there a few times this last summer/fall on Sundays with nice weather and it was disappointing how thin the crowds were.delmar2debaliviere2downtown wrote: ↑Feb 12, 2025Agreed - love the UCBC Midtown location. I love the nestled patio. It probably is my overall favorite Brewery experience. Unfortunately I’ve been there on a couple summer friday/saturdays where crowds were a little sparse.
Anyone in the Busch family live in Ladue? Glad to see it will survive. I don't know how long ago it happened but I saw that the grove operation has their food side taken over by Sugarfire. I really liked their NY style pizza but not sure if they kept them the same or if that was changed.MarkGroth2020 wrote: ↑Feb 12, 2025Looks like UCBC is being purchased by a Ladue, MO investor. Interesting to note that both Schlafly and AB In-Bev were approached for a combined operation/sale, respectively.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/business/local-investor-to-buy-urban-chestnut-brewery-following-bankruptcy/article_80c1b0d8-e954-11ef-9bc2-f30122fb6afd.html
They also had conversations with Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch, New Realm Brewing, Artisanal Brewing Ventures, a mix of breweries operating for Ulysses Capital and Greenleaf Capital Partners with no results.
The German location will be liquidated to help pay off debt. The real question for me is will the Compton/Washington location stay open. This is one of my favorite places in St. Louis. The Grove location is likely the one most people prefer...not I. The brewing capacity and location is probably priority in the Grove.
Anyhow, happy they will keep plugging along. That said, with Wellspent up for sale, and Earthbound closing, who's next? All you legalized pot heads don't buy beer anymore? Kidding.
Will Perennial, Alpha, Civil Life, 2nd Shift, Blue Jay, Schlafly, Brick River, Rockwell, Bluewood, Modern, Heavy Riff, 4-Hands survive? I hope we keep this scene going. It is special and unique to a city of <300K people.
They still have the NY style pies along with the traditional German fair like bratwurst and sauerkraut.flipz wrote: ↑Feb 13, 2025Anyone in the Busch family live in Ladue? Glad to see it will survive. I don't know how long ago it happened but I saw that the grove operation has their food side taken over by Sugarfire. I really liked their NY style pizza but not sure if they kept them the same or if that was changed.MarkGroth2020 wrote: ↑Feb 12, 2025Looks like UCBC is being purchased by a Ladue, MO investor. Interesting to note that both Schlafly and AB In-Bev were approached for a combined operation/sale, respectively.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/business/local-investor-to-buy-urban-chestnut-brewery-following-bankruptcy/article_80c1b0d8-e954-11ef-9bc2-f30122fb6afd.html
They also had conversations with Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch, New Realm Brewing, Artisanal Brewing Ventures, a mix of breweries operating for Ulysses Capital and Greenleaf Capital Partners with no results.
The German location will be liquidated to help pay off debt. The real question for me is will the Compton/Washington location stay open. This is one of my favorite places in St. Louis. The Grove location is likely the one most people prefer...not I. The brewing capacity and location is probably priority in the Grove.
Anyhow, happy they will keep plugging along. That said, with Wellspent up for sale, and Earthbound closing, who's next? All you legalized pot heads don't buy beer anymore? Kidding.
Will Perennial, Alpha, Civil Life, 2nd Shift, Blue Jay, Schlafly, Brick River, Rockwell, Bluewood, Modern, Heavy Riff, 4-Hands survive? I hope we keep this scene going. It is special and unique to a city of <300K people.
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The switch to Sugarfire was a welcome change. UCBC Grove’s food had been bad for a couple years before the switch. Undercooked pizza, overcooked sandwiches, seemingly cooked (if you catch me) employees working the food stall.
Their pizza and brats are great.JaneJacobsGhost wrote: ↑Feb 13, 2025The switch to Sugarfire was a welcome change. UCBC Grove’s food had been bad for a couple years before the switch. Undercooked pizza, overcooked sandwiches, seemingly cooked (if you catch me) employees working the food stall.
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Last time I had their pizza, maybe a year ago, it wasn’t cooked. It was so floppy that the barely melted cheese would slide right off. Maybe I caught them at bad time, but like I said, it had happened every time I head eaten there for last 2-3 years. And given the switch, I’d wager many other people had similar complaints.
They also seemed to be out of a lot of a number of items far too frequently. They always had an 86 board that seemed to have 1/4 to 1/3 the menu on it.JaneJacobsGhost wrote: ↑Feb 13, 2025The switch to Sugarfire was a welcome change. UCBC Grove’s food had been bad for a couple years before the switch. Undercooked pizza, overcooked sandwiches, seemingly cooked (if you catch me) employees working the food stall.
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Beer overall has been flat lately and craft beer has been in a state of slight decline nationwide. States with legalized weed have done even worse.
Most of these breweries will be fine, but it was inevitable that some of these would close or face problems. More probably will. We just grew our scene at an unsustainable pace during the hype phase and we are now in the hangover.
Another note of concern is the struggle that beer-centric businesses have been facing lately. In the past couple years we have lost:
Most of these breweries will be fine, but it was inevitable that some of these would close or face problems. More probably will. We just grew our scene at an unsustainable pace during the hype phase and we are now in the hangover.
Another note of concern is the struggle that beer-centric businesses have been facing lately. In the past couple years we have lost:
- 21st Street Brewers bar
- Gezellig
- The Sliced Pint
- All of the Craft Beer Cellars
- Burger Underground (St. Charles)
- Tapped (reopened then closed again a couple months ago)
- Hop Cat
- The Elm Taphouse and Kitchen (St. Charles County)
- Beer Sauce Shops have all rebranded (and now stock maybe half of the beer they used to) and one closed
- Hop Shop is on it's last legs, shelves aren't even stocked at the moment
Glad to hear it. We just about called them the other day to get takeout but then went elsewhere cause we saw it was Sugarfire now.STLAPTS wrote: ↑Feb 13, 2025They still have the NY style pies along with the traditional German fair like bratwurst and sauerkraut.flipz wrote: ↑Feb 13, 2025Anyone in the Busch family live in Ladue? Glad to see it will survive. I don't know how long ago it happened but I saw that the grove operation has their food side taken over by Sugarfire. I really liked their NY style pizza but not sure if they kept them the same or if that was changed.MarkGroth2020 wrote: ↑Feb 12, 2025Looks like UCBC is being purchased by a Ladue, MO investor. Interesting to note that both Schlafly and AB In-Bev were approached for a combined operation/sale, respectively.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/business/local-investor-to-buy-urban-chestnut-brewery-following-bankruptcy/article_80c1b0d8-e954-11ef-9bc2-f30122fb6afd.html
They also had conversations with Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch, New Realm Brewing, Artisanal Brewing Ventures, a mix of breweries operating for Ulysses Capital and Greenleaf Capital Partners with no results.
The German location will be liquidated to help pay off debt. The real question for me is will the Compton/Washington location stay open. This is one of my favorite places in St. Louis. The Grove location is likely the one most people prefer...not I. The brewing capacity and location is probably priority in the Grove.
Anyhow, happy they will keep plugging along. That said, with Wellspent up for sale, and Earthbound closing, who's next? All you legalized pot heads don't buy beer anymore? Kidding.
Will Perennial, Alpha, Civil Life, 2nd Shift, Blue Jay, Schlafly, Brick River, Rockwell, Bluewood, Modern, Heavy Riff, 4-Hands survive? I hope we keep this scene going. It is special and unique to a city of <300K people.
Maybe an idea.. don't build a competing behemoth of a beer hall satellite 2.5 miles from your original flagship location. Not only is it diluting the brand but probably comes with some insane overhead.dweebe wrote: ↑Feb 13, 2025We went there a few times this last summer/fall on Sundays with nice weather and it was disappointing how thin the crowds were.delmar2debaliviere2downtown wrote: ↑Feb 12, 2025Agreed - love the UCBC Midtown location. I love the nestled patio. It probably is my overall favorite Brewery experience. Unfortunately I’ve been there on a couple summer friday/saturdays where crowds were a little sparse.
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The people from Little Lager are opening a little cocktail focused speakeasy called Keepsake in the Midtown UCBC complex. Should draw some more crowds.
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^I think they both can succeed if activity picks up around their Midtown location, same for the other breweries in that area - more residents in Midtown/DT west/Grand Center, more shows/concerts/events in those neighborhoods, and with those things, then come more dining and nightlife options. There’s movement on all those things
The Grove location is busy because of its surroundings more than anything
The Grove location is busy because of its surroundings more than anything
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That little stretch of Wash Ave is popping. Surprised we haven't seen any proposals for dense residential nearby outside of that little building going up at Washington and Cardinal.
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It was my understanding they needed the brewing capacity of both. Anyway, yes. I was at the Midtown location Wednesday and I'll be at the Grove location Sunday. I want to say there's someone else running the kitchen in Midtown now too. Not just the Grove. I forget who. Smashburger sort of operation. Not sure I've tried it since the takeover, though. UCBC isn't really a place I go for the food. Love the beer. Happy to hang out there with friends, or for a meeting. (It's become the go to place for a small organizational meeting I schedule. Was an instant hit. Beer makes meetings better. Who knew?) Anyway, the bankruptcy made me nervous, but I'm happy to see continuing local ownership, and that the staff seems to have been retained, so I'm hoping everything will continue.
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The investor or the one doing smashburgers at Midtown?
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Brasswell was just temporary at UCBC but they basically taught the crew their technique so it's a great dupe.
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Schlafly is spinning off it's Highland, IL brewery.
This just a few months after closing Schlafly Bankside in St. Charles.
So now back to just the Maplewood and Downtown locations.
https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local ... 08027ed0e2
This just a few months after closing Schlafly Bankside in St. Charles.
So now back to just the Maplewood and Downtown locations.
https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local ... 08027ed0e2
I was worried for both of these, and not just in over-expansion but diluting the exclusivity of the brand experience.Baltimore Jack wrote: ↑Apr 08, 2025Schlafly is spinning off it's Highland, IL brewery.
This just a few months after closing Schlafly Bankside in St. Charles.
So now back to just the Maplewood and Downtown locations.
https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local ... 08027ed0e2
What exactly was there to gain from the location in Highland?