DECATUR, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama city is losing its only brewery because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cross-Eyed Owl Brewing Co. in Decatur will close Oct. 31. A co-owner told the Decatur Daily that the brewery has suffered declining sales because of the pandemic.
The business had complemented efforts to lure millennials to live in the city.
Trey Atwood, co-owner of Decatur’s first and only microbrewery, said he is out of money to continue operations less than three years after opening.
“COVID depressed our sales,” Atwood said. “Sales are down anywhere from 50% to 75% pre-COVID.”
Government assistance received during the pandemic wasn’t enough, he said.
“We used the government assistance programs and they were woefully insufficient,” Atwood said. “This pandemic has been going on nine months. The assistance money was good for maybe six to eight weeks. We ran out of money.”
Another north Alabama brewery, Straight to Ale in Huntsville, announced Wednesday on its Facebook page that it would close temporarily after a worker tested positive for COVID-19. The brewery said it would reopen in “pristine” condition after cleaning and tests for any worker who might have been in contact with the infected person.
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