Rumors have been swirling for months that Elsewhere Brewing would eventually close not only in Grant Park but at its newest location at Westside Paper. Owners Sara and Sam Kazmer put those rumors to rest this week, officially announcing the closures of both brewery locations.
Elsewhere Brewing will close after four years in Grant Park and just over a year at Westside Paper on Oct. 27. Several events are planned in the weeks leading up to the closures, including Oktoberfest this weekend.
For many longtime regulars of Elsewhere Brewing, the announcement comes as a sad one but not necessarily a surprising one. The Kazmers have been very transparent on social media over the last year about the struggles the brewery faced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with rising ingredient prices and construction woes at the Beacon in Grant Park and Westside Paper on Atlanta’s west side.
Despite a weekly lineup of popular events like Sunday drag brunch, food pop-ups, trivia, and live music drawing crowds and regularly hosting private functions, including many weddings, these events weren’t enough to bolster the bottom line. Sales have been down as much as 50% for weeks at a time, according to the Kazmers.
“Despite the beautiful fall weather, since Labor Day weekend, our sales have reduced by 40-50%. This reduction in revenue has occurred every year and continues until the following Spring every year,” the closure announcement from the Kazmers reads. “We are no longer in a financial position to sustain it.”
They cite ongoing construction at the Beacon and Westside Paper as factors in the decision to close the brewery. The couple is also expecting their first child in November.
“It’s time for Sam and I to reinvest in our personal lives and build a life that can support a new addition to our family,” noting in the announcement that the brewery is for sale.
Elsewhere Brewing opened at the Beacon in the fall of 2020 during the height of the pandemic. A second location followed three years later at the emerging Westside Paper development along West Marietta Street. Both complexes are currently under construction with completion dates several months out.
Small breweries in Georgia face an uphill battle as craft beer sales are down significantly from five years ago, and the state’s distribution laws remain unfavorable to local and independent breweries.
In August, neighboring Grant Park brewery Eventide also closed at the Beacon. Like Elsewhere Brewing, rumors that Eventide was in trouble had been circulating for months. Last September, Eventide co-founder and CEO Nathan Cowan told the Atlanta Business Chronicle that the brewery’s operations costs had skyrocketed by 30%. It also faced growing competition from larger breweries. At the time, Cowan gave Eventide a “50-50 chance of being around in a year.”
Elsewhere Brewing at the Beacon, 1039 Grant Street, Grant Park.
Elsewhere Brewing at Westside Paper, 950 West Marietta Street, Knight Park/Howell Station
