The Budweiser-owned 10 Barrel Brewing Company caused controversy when it entered San Diego's East Village in spring 2017, but the 3-year-old brewpub is now permanently closed.
The San Diego craft beer industry was less than receptive to 10 Barrel Brewing Company opening a location at 1501 E Street in the East Village, even going as far as flying a plane over the grand opening for three hours trailing a giant banner reading, "10 Barrel Is Not Craft Beer." Although founders Garrett Whales, Jeremy Cox and Chris Cox are still very much hands on in overseeing operations at the 14-year-old brewery, the Oregon-based 10 Barrel was purchased in 2014 by Anheuser Busch InBev - the multinational beverage and brewing company that produces Budweiser, Miller, Stella Artois, and many more as the largest beer maker in the world. Local brewers saw the project as "Big Beer" moving in on their territory and were outspoken with their dissent. In addition to its original brewery and brewpub in Bend, Oregon, 10 Barrel also has locations in Portland, Denver, and Boise, Idaho.
The 10,450 square-foot San Diego 10 Barrel was designed by Scott | Edwards Architecture, offering two floors, a rooftop deck dining area, two bars with patio games, and a 20 BBL brewhouse. The mostly-from-scratch kitchen was run by longtime San Diego Chef Tommy Fraioli. We received word that last night management laid off staff and informed employees that the East Village location would not be reopening. We reached out to 10 Barrel for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publishing.
For more information on 10 Barrel Brewing Co. San Diego, visit 10barrel.com/pub/san-diego.
"The 10 Barrel San Diego brewpub will permanently close, effective Friday, December 4th," posted the company to its website. "The closure is a direct result of the global health crisis and the significant impacts COVID-19 has had on the pub’s business operations and revenue. The 10 Barrel team has shown incredible resilience in the face of tough challenges this year, we are so proud of them. It has been a pleasure to serve the San Diego community and to get to know local businesses, customers and organizations over the past few years. We’d like to extend a thank you to all of the locals and tourists alike who have joined us for a beer or meal in the pub. While the doors to the pub will be closing, San Diego will remain a priority for us and our beers will still be available locally."
The 10,450 square-foot San Diego 10 Barrel was designed by Scott | Edwards Architecture, offering two floors, a rooftop deck dining area, two bars with patio games, and a 20 BBL brewhouse. The mostly-from-scratch kitchen was run by longtime San Diego Chef Tommy Fraioli. We received word that last night management laid off staff and informed employees that the East Village location would not be reopening. We reached out to 10 Barrel for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publishing.
For more information on 10 Barrel Brewing Co. San Diego, visit 10barrel.com/pub/san-diego.
