Alewife Craft Beer Bottle Shop announced minutes ago via Facebook, it will close this fall after 10 years in Jacksonville’s Five Points neighborhood.
Alewife is the third small business in Five Points to announce a closure, behind Mixed Fillings Pie Shop and Sun-Ray Cinema. Alewife will close in October
Alewife is the third small business in Five Points to announce a closure, behind Mixed Fillings Pie Shop and Sun-Ray Cinema. Alewife will close in October
Their Facebook announcement follows:
Ok. Here we go. **takes deep breath**
We are coming to the end of our 10-year lease, and we have made the difficult decision to not enter into a new lease when that term ends. This is a decision we have been agonizing over for the past few months and it truly hurts us to make it.
A number of factors played into this decision. Over the course of the last ten years, we’ve witnessed significant changes within the craft beer industry as evidenced by the wave of brewery closures across the country. We’ve evolved with it along the way as best we could while remaining authentic to who we are – expanding our menus and shifting the focus of our events. We also can’t overstate the impact the pandemic had on the business. While we were able to navigate through it, the closures left us in a bit of a hole. And while we worked really hard to get out of it, the lingering post-pandemic shifts in consumer behavior have made getting out of that hole even more difficult.
There is also no doubt that 5 Points is a neighborhood in the midst of a transition. And that’s okay. Neighborhoods evolve and change. We love 5 Points – this decision does not change that. But at the end of the day, we know we don’t have the energy or resources it would take to make this space successful enough to support what the current market rate demands.
We have the opportunity to walk away on our terms, with time to say goodbye and celebrate everything that Alewife has been to us. So, we’re taking it.
Where do we go from here? We’re not entirely sure. We know we will be hosting events from now through October and truly hope you’ll join us in celebrating everything that Alewife has meant to you. After that, we’d love to see another beer-centric bar take our place to keep providing a space for 5 Points to create community and make their home away from home.
Keep an eye on our social media for our upcoming events and a more solidified closure date once we’ve got that set. It’s going to be a bittersweet ride to the end and we sincerely thank you for coming along with us for the journey.