Buyers Negotiating for San Francisco’s Anchor Steam Brewery

Several buyers are in negotiations on “the whole kit and kaboodle” at Anchor Steam Brewery, including its buildings and intellectual property, according to Anchor spokesperson Sam Singer, which could mean the 128-year-old San Francisco institution will live to brew another day.

Singer would not give additional details on the buyers, since the negotiations continue with the different parties, but said the deal would likely close by late May and would include “all assets of Anchor Brewing Company” including its real estate. The deal will also include brewing equipment and intellectual property such as recipes and the trademark on “steam beer.”

He also would not reveal how close the buyers are to the $40-million asking price put forth by CBRE on the real estate alone in October, which came months after owner Sapporo shocked the city with news that it was closing and liquidating the 110,000-square-foot property with four parcels along both sides of Mariposa Street, citing declining sales, increased competition and a shift in drinker preferences away from beer.

Sapporo bought Anchor Steam from Griffin Group, run by former Skyy Vodka executives, for $85 million in 2017. The brewery was founded in San Francisco in 1896 and became known as “America’s First Craft Brewery.”

News of the sale should hearten those who had been lamenting that the brewery and its valuable Potrero Hill real estate might soon part ways, given the growth of AI companies in the area.

Commercial real estate experts who spoke with TRD shortly after the announcement of the brewery’s closure last year thought a redevelopment move was the most likely play.

“The 501 De Haro Street building presents a tremendous opportunity for real estate players, and even more so for prospective tenants,” John Jensen of Colliers said at the time, though he acknowledged that “significant capital would need to be invested to make the buildings suitable for AI tenant use.”

Unless a “white knight” came in to keep the brewery running more or less as is, Jeffrey Enright, senior vice president of Kidder Mathews’ valuation advisory services, said the market would most likely look at the parcels on either side of Mariposa Street as two distinct offerings. The historic Art Deco building and two-story Mid-Century on one side of the street, where Anchor Steam has been located since 1979, would be more likely to be redeveloped; the more industrial parcel and one-story tasting room on the other, which together add up to 1.5 acres, could make more sense as a land deal.

San Francisco beer lovers will have to wait until next month to find out whether or not that white knight has in fact arrived.

This article was updated to reflect that there is more than one buyer in the negotiations.