As Nocterra Brewing Co. works to "sort things out," at least one of its two taprooms has closed – at least temporarily.
Dozens of social media posts by customers and employees starting Aug. 30 questioned the future of the8-year-old craft brewer with taprooms in Powell and Columbus' Brewery District. Columbus Business First reported Aug. 31 that Nocterra had closed both locations.
But co-owner Bryan Duncan, who came to the door Aug. 31 at around 8 a.m. at Nocterra's taproom at the Scioto Audubon Metro Park, stopped short of confirming his company's demise to The Dispatch.
The Audubon location will be closed Aug. 31, he said. When asked whether the Powell taproom will be closed as well and whether the Audubon shutdown is permanent or temporary, he said,
"That's what we're trying to sort out." A sign on the door said the Audubon taproom was closed Aug. 30 for maintenance.
Duncan told The Dispatch that a statement on the brewer's status is another matter being sorted out. Columbus Business First, however, reported that the brewer had "ceased operations" and published a statement from its owners.
“Heartbreak doesn’t begin to describe it," they said in the statement, according to Business First. "We understand the impact this has on all of you and we promise we exhausted every resource, connection, ability and dollar at our disposal to find a path allowing Nocterra to continue its current structure. Unfortunately we are out of runway to keep fighting.”
On social media, customers began speculating Aug. 30 that Nocterra was closing, sharing stories about employees telling them to keep pint glasses as souvenirs. One Reddit commenter who said he or she was an employee of the business said owners had sent an email to staff saying both locations would close Aug. 31.
Follow Dispatch dining reporter Bob Vitale on Instagram at @dispatchdining. You can reach him directly at rvitale@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Nocterra Brewing taprooms face uncertain future
