Nov. 1—EFFINGHAM — Residents will have to say goodbye to one of Effingham's favorite dining and hangout spots, as The Effing Brew Company announced it will be closing its doors permanently Sunday.

News of the closure was discussed at the Effingham County Economic Development Advisory Board meeting Tuesday. Some members suggested this could be a sign of an alarming trend for businesses in the area.

Economic Development Advisory Board Chairman Dave Campbell called the closure a "sign of the times."

Fellow board member Ed Hoopingarner said he spoke to someone from Effing Brew and suggested that recent inflation might be to blame.

"According to what they told me was everything was raised so high they can't afford to stay in business," Hoopingarner said. "Electricity bills have doubled and tripled. Everything's gone up."

Effing Brew co-owner Chad Eirhart said the restaurant hit its breaking point when a recently announced increase in electricity costs in the city pushed them over the edge. However, he said the restaurant has been fighting to stay open for quite some time.

"At the city council meeting the other night, they said expect your electricity rates to triple, and we were just barely squeaking by as it was," Eirhart said. "It just kind of puts a bullet in your heart."

Eirhart said problems began not long after they first opened the restaurant in March of 2018 before the pandemic hit.

"We basically picked the worst time in the world to open a restaurant to begin with," he said. "COVID came along and that stubbed our toe pretty bad, and then business has been down."

Eirhart said businesses like Effing Brew in cities across the country are facing many of the same problems.

"The whole restaurant industry is suffering," he said. "Downtowns are dying all across the country."

Eirhart also partially credits the restaurant's downtown location with its downfall.

"If we could take this place and drop it off out there by the interstate, I think we'd be doing fine," he said.

Eirhart claimed an interstate location would have brought in more business from the many people who travel through the city every day.

Eirhart said the most difficult thing about having to close the restaurant is having to say goodbye to his workers, regular customers, and the business he has personally poured so much effort into.

"It's just really been an emotional roller coaster. That's the worst part of it," Eirhart said.

"I spent a lot of 6 a.m. nights in here painting this place."

Co-owning Effing Brew was Eirhart's first time running a bar, and he said this might have factored into the difficulty they experienced when trying to break into such a tough industry.

"We were newbies, and I'm sure inexperience played a part in it," Eirhart said.

Susan Young has been bartending at Effing Brew for the past nine months and said staff had just recently found out the restaurant is closing its doors for good at the end of the day Sunday.

"We've known for probably about a week, week and a half, give or take," she said.

Young said what she is going to miss most about Effing Brew are the customers, her co-workers, and the restaurant's regulars she has gotten to know.

"Effing Brew is a family, and this is our home. So, imagine what you'd feel like if you were losing your home just because you couldn't afford the inflation," Young said.

Young said she isn't in much of a rush to find another job as she already works a second, but she said she hopes to work somewhere similar to Effing Brew some day.

"Honestly, this is my second job, so I'm probably not going to get another job for a couple of months. But I will probably definitely bartend again," Young said. "This has been my social outlet and my fun job. I love it. I love it so much, and I'm going to miss it a lot."

Rem and Marilyn Woodruff are regular customers at Effing Brew and were at the restaurant Tuesday.

"Probably once or twice a month we come up here for lunch. We like to sit outside," Rem Woodruff said.

As they enjoyed some drinks at one of their favorite spots, Rem Woodruff discussed some of the things he will miss most about the restaurant.

"Doing what we're doing right here. Sitting outside, having a beer and a bourbon. Their foods is always good, service is always good," he said. "We try to support the local restaurants and the local businesses so it's sad to see one of them shut down."

Now that Eirhart has first-hand experience of how difficult the restaurant industry is, he said he is unlikely to open a new restaurant anytime soon.

"The stars would really have to align if I was going to do this again," he said.

Eirhart has a deep connection to the restaurant. He said the proudest moment of his life happened at the bar in Effing Brew.

"Probably the proudest moment I ever had was seeing our dads sit up there at our bar having a beer together," he said regarding he and his co-owner's fathers. "I'm going to miss that."

Although Eirhart experienced his fair share of challenges while running the restaurant, he is unlikely to forget about the many memories he made there anytime soon.

"It's been a hell of a ride," Eirhart said.

Effing Brew will be hosting live music Saturday, Nov. 5, as part of its farewell celebration before closing its doors for good Sunday.

Nick Taylor can be reached at nick.taylor@effinghamdailynews.com or by phone at 618-510-9226 or 217-347-7151 ext. 300132.