USA, CA: Wildcard Brewing Co. seeking new ownership

Faced with an ever-evolving craft brewery landscape and the “financial hurdles” of trying to keep up, Wildcard Brewing Co. in Redding is seeking new ownership, the Redding Record Searchlight reported on August 1.

In the interim, Wildcard has closed its brewery on Crossroads Drive and its two tasting rooms in Redding. Wildcard's tasting room in Albany in the San Francisco Bay area closed in May.

“Unfortunately, the ground has shifted beneath our feet. Breweries are opening at incredible rates, leaving our regional distribution plans with some major pitfalls,” Wildcard co-owner Jenny Hansen said in a news release. “As we looked at our model and we looked at what is happening in our industry, we took a step back and angled ourselves to focus on direct to consumer sales through our tasting rooms. Unfortunately, the financial hurdles of that expansion became too much.”

Jenny, and her husband, Jeff Hansen, opened Wildcard in 2012. The couple put the business up for sale earlier this year and “continue to pursue a possible partnership that will allow Wildcard operations to resume.”

Joshua Johnson, of Venture Properties in Redding, said a deal to purchase the business is in escrow and there is a chance the sale will close by the end of this month.

Johnson is representing the would-be buyers. He said they are local but declined to identify them.

"That's what's exciting. They are local and they are committed to our city and also the brewing community, so that is really good," Johnson said.

Jenny Hansen said they are grateful that a potential buyer has come forward. Jeff Hansen said should the deal happen, it would be a partnership, though they would not be the majority owners.

"From a public standpoint, there would really not be a change. It would still be Jeff and I carrying out the roles that we have had since we established it," Jenny Hansen said. Jenny is CEO and Jeff is the brewmaster.

One of the things that set the business back were the costs associated with opening the tasting room in Albany. The Hansens spent more than a year getting the space ready before it opened last fall.

"We were just not able to recover from that financial stress. ... Unfortunately, the tasting room at that location didn't perform as we thought it would," Jenny Hansen said.

The Hansens said the craft brew industry has changed dramatically in just the seven years they have been in business. They ventured out to distinguish themselves as a regional brewery, distributing product from southern Oregon to the Bay Area. But the competition today is so fierce that it's easy to get lost in the shuffle.

"Another thing, there is not only quite a few breweries, but everybody is putting out new beers all the time consistently. You're seeing some do four different beers a week," Jenny Hansen said.

Jeff Hansen said it's difficult to be cost efficient when you're trying to produce that many new beers.

"If I know if our flag ship is North State IPA, I can go to my vendors and know how much" and what ingredients are needed, he said. "With a new everything every week and the flavor of the week, we are not able to contract out those ingredients, so you are paying more for your ingredients."

The Hansens opened Wildcard in 2012 in 4,200 square feet of open warehouse space on Crossroads Drive in east Redding. The brewery secured a Small Business Administration loan to procure a 15-barrel brew system and moved all production in-house in 2013.

In early 2016, Wildcard expanded to a second tasting room in downtown Redding, Wildcard Tied House in the White building on Pine Street.

Wildcard was named SBA Start Up Business of the Year for the Sacramento District in 2014.

The brewery also partnered with Viva Downtown Redding to start Hops and Shops, a brewfest that highlights local businesses.

Wildcard has been part of a local, growing craft beer market.

Fall River, Final Draft and Woody's all are headquartered in Redding.

Cedar Crest is in the process of moving its brewery production and winery to downtown Redding in Cascade Square at Placer and California streets. The location also will have a tasting room.

"It's been a great ride. We never imagined the amount of community support we would get and that's been fantastic," Jeff Hansen said.

04 August, 2019