Raleigh, North Carolina brewery Gizmo Brew Works files for bankruptcy

Gizmo Brew Works, a Raleigh brewery with taprooms across the Triangle, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to court documents.

Why it matters: Founded in 2013, Gizmo expanded significantly in the past few years — going from one location in Raleigh to opening taprooms on Chapel Hill’s Franklin Street and in Durham’s University Hill development.

Driving the news: The brewery filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, court documents show.

• Gizmo — known for beers like the Raleigh Red red ale and Carolina Pine India pale ale — reported assets between $100,000 to $500,000 and debts between $1 million and $10 million.
• The brewery’s largest debt was nearly $1 million to Wilmington-based Live Oak Bank.

Between the lines: It’s been a rough stretch for breweries that have tried to expand coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gizmo opened a significant remodel of Chapel Hill’s old Rathskeller in February 2020, right before bars were closed by the spread of the disease.

• Gizmo’s management said business after the pandemic has not recovered to a level to balance its debt from expansion, the Triangle Business Journal reported.
• The brewery has not yet responded to Axios’ request for comment.

• Wilmington brewery New Anthem expressed a similar sentiment last week after it decided to close its Raleigh taproom less than a year after opening.

Zoom out: The craft beer industry’s growth overall has slowed down coming out of the pandemic, Axios Denver’s John Frank reported last year.

What’s next: Gizmo told the Triangle Business Journal it plans to keep all of its taprooms and employees while it goes through Chapter 11 reorganization.

Source link