District Brew Yards, the concept that gave multiple breweries a shared taproom and production facility, is headed for last call.
Owner Steve Soble is prepared to close the Near West Side flagship at 417 North Ashland Avenue as well as a suburban outpost at 700 North Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling. CBRE was tapped to market the 17,300-square-foot Chicago building and the 11,900-square-foot Wheeling property, which carry asking prices of $4.5 million and $3.6 million, respectively, CoStar reported. That’s about $260 per square foot for the Chicago facility and $302 per square foot for the one in Wheeling.
The Chicago location, which opened in 2019, will stay open temporarily while CBRE fields offers. The Wheeling site, which debuted in 2022, will close Sept. 28. They are being pitched as turnkey opportunities for brewers or restaurateurs. However, the Ashland property, sitting near Fulton Market and the planned $10 billion 1901 Project from the Bulls and Blackhawks owners, could be ripe for larger redevelopment.
District Brew Yards’ exit is part of a broader shakeout in craft beer nationally. For the first time since 2005, more breweries closed than opened in the U.S. last year, leaving 9,796 still operating, according to the Brewers Association. Chicago has seen its share of retrenchment: Metropolitan Brewing folded, Goose Island closed its Clybourn brewpub in favor of an outpost at the Salt Shed, and Revolution Brewing consolidated into Avondale.
Soble, 61, said after decades in food, beverage and brewing — including Burnt City Brewing, one of the four labels inside Brew Yards — he’s ready to step aside.
“It’s either time to dig in and alter the concept or let someone younger step in,” Soble told the outlet. “We see the writing on the wall that it’s going to be difficult to continue to do this.”
Other breweries sharing the facilities include Around the Bend, Twisted Hippo and Casa Humilde. The model was born out of Soble’s observation that food halls like Revival in the Loop had traction, but few existed for craft beer.— Eric Weilbacher
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