Livermore Brewery Closes Amid Stay-At-Home Order
LIVERMORE, CA — Livermore's Eight Bridges Brewing will be closing after more than six years of serving customers in the Tri-Valley and Bay Area.
Eight Bridges Brewing opened its Livermore tasting room at 332 Earhart Way in 2014 to serve up local brews, which were sold in establishments across the Bay Area. The brewery expanded over the years, acquiring more brewing equipment and expanding production. As a member of the Livermore Valley Craft Beer Foundation, Eight Bridges Brewing participated in events benefitting local causes.
Word of the closure came hours before a stay-at-home order was implemented across the East Bay, which called for the shuttering of breweries, bars, wineries and distilleries.
"It's difficult when you go into a year planning on expansion and growth, and you get hammered with shutdowns," said Justin Beardsley, an owner of the brewing company.
Eight Bridges Brewing had planned on opening a second tasting room in Alameda County in 2020, Beardsley said. The business had just purchased canning equipment for its brews.
But as the year unfolded, Eight Bridges Brewing would lose more than half of its customers — including those at its retail store and wholesale businesses across the Bay Area that closed or will likely close, Beardsley said.
As people sought to limit their exposure to COVID-19, many started to buy their beer from the grocery store to reduce trips outside. Eight Bridges Brewing had "to fight [its] way in there" to get its merchandise on grocery store shelves, he said.
"It was pretty difficult at the get-go," Beardsley said.
By August, it was clear that major changes would have to be made. The business has since depleted its reserves and is completely shutting down.
"The business is one thing, but [the hardest thing is losing] all the friends and customers that we've made, and all the fans," Beardsley said. "They're almost like family to us."
Small businesses in Tri-Valley and across the country have struggled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Local favorites such as Specialty's Cafe & Bakery in Pleasanton and The Little Pear in Danville are among those that were unable to survive the challenges of 2020.
Some 164,000 American businesses indicated on online business directory Yelp that they had closed, including 98,000 that had permanently closed, according to Yelp's September 2020 economic impact report.
As for Beardsley, he'll be returning to his career as a paramedic and hopes to return to the craft brew scene again. He urged others to support their favorite small businesses — the one's they'd be saddest to see gone next year.
"I know every restaurant and brewery is going to need it," he said.
Eight Bridges Brewing is continuing to sell the last of its brews online. Customers can also call call in a pick-up order at 925-961-9160 and pay at the tasting room. Cans, crowlers, growlers and kegs are available.
Eight Bridges Brewing will close Dec. 19.
This article originally appeared on the Livermore Patch
