There were some troubling signs from MacLeod Ale Brewing Company in recent days but today the hammer came down as they announced the closure of both the original Van Nuys brewing operation and the just recently opened satellite pizza and bar in Highland Park.
The reasons cited for the closures:
1] We’re over budget in several categories
2] We have too much debt due to expansion
3] Sudden crash of sales [down 15% in Oct, 21% in November! Bad timing!]
4] Our 2nd location opened too late and is underperforming.
You have to be a risk taker to brew beer commercially and you also need angel investors to backstop when good bets go wrong. Hopefully a new chapter can emerge from the brewery and it employees.
How sad. I enjoyed my MacLeod experiences.