USA, NC: Craftboro Brewing Company announces last day of operation

The sad saga of businesses leaving South Green Shopping Center in Carrboro continues as the Craftboro Brewing Company announced its closing will be on Feb. 17. The popular brewery follows the demise of Coronato and the Oasis Cigar Lounge in October, the Local Reporter reported on January 17.

In a statement written by owners Amy and Jason McCarter, sent to TLR on January 16, “We close the doors knowing it was not due to our beer, because we make the best damn beer around. Tate is a wonderful person and continues to wow us with his skill of brewing, and it’s hard not to feel bitter about closing our doors when we have one of the most talented brewers around. We close the doors knowing it was not due to our brewery, y’all loved our space! You chose our space to host baby showers, birthday parties, graduation celebrations, wedding receptions and even a wedding! We are honored to know our brewery is part of so many other stories in the works. We have loved our staff over the years as they’re Craftboro family, too.

“We close our doors due to an onslaught of challenges beyond our control that eventually overcame our ability to get back up. Boring, frustrating things that leave us feeling unsatisfied, empty and defeated. Exhausted. Sad. Maybe a bit angry.”

Cigar smoke is not the reason Craftboro is closing, but the vacancy of Oasis Cigar and that of Coronato has had an impact on Craftboro’s business. “The closings of those two businesses had a substantial negative impact on foot traffic after they closed,” Jason McCarter said.

Craftboro Brewery survived the pandemic and was even awarded a COVID Mitigation Grant in early 2022 from the Town of Carrboro, but just as things seemed to be looking up, there was no happy ending.

“Equipment failures, cold, wet winters, and COVID variants got thrown at us. Add in other obstacles out of our control, such as inflation on everything from grain to utilities, and the going got even harder. But we kept on. There was always a dim light visible at the end of the tunnel, but that chapter unfortunately ended,” McCarter wrote.

Craftboro will remain open from Tuesday to Saturday until Feb. 17. McCarter said they have no immediate plans to relocate once they close.

17 January, 2024