After just over a year, 1840 Brewing Co. closed its West Bend location last weekend.
The taproom, which has a location in Bay View that opened in 2017 and remains open, was located in a commercial space on the first floor of The District apartment building, located just north of West Bend’s historic downtown.
In a post on Facebook, 1840 cited financial challenges as the primary reason for the closure.
The taproom was announced in May 2022, with a goal of opening in 2023. Construction delays, however, pushed the opening back multiple times, and some projects had to be completed twice, according to the post.
“We opened this location 11 months later than we originally planned. Seven of those months we had to pay rent,” the post said.
The funds used to pay rent had been set aside for a kitchen and coffee shop component of the business. Therefore, 1840 had to open as a taproom only and was without the two planned revenue streams.
“We did our best to carry the whole space with just beer service,” the post said. “But it wasn’t long before we were needing to invest more cash into the business to keep it running.”
Ultimately 1840 tried to renegotiate its debt, but were “not offered any realistic terms” from their private lender.
“Thanks for the support you have shown us over the last year,” the post said. “It was great to get to be a part of your community, even if only for a year.”
1840 is looking for a replacement tenant, according to the post.
The District apartment complex, developed and owned by Milwaukee-based HKS Holdings, features 177 residential units.
The last year has brought major changes to metro Milwaukee’s craft brewing scene. City Lights Brewing Co. in the Menomonee Valley and Enlightened Brewing in Bay View both closed in January. MobCraft, located in Walker’s Point, shut down in November, and Company Brewing in Riverwest closed last May. In addition, Good City Brewing’s Mequon location was closed by its new owners, The Explorium Brewpub.
More coverage of 1840 and other Milwaukee-area brewers:
- 1840 Brewing Company expanding into West Bend with new taproom
- ‘Seismic shift’ hits local craft brewing industry
- New craft brewery planned for former Cudahy fire station
- Boom to bust? What’s behind the recent spike in craft brewery closures and acquisitions?
- Brewing company co-owned by Vince Lombardi’s grandson to open taproom in former City Lights Brewing space in Milwaukee
- MobCraft brewery, taproom to reopen under new ownership
