One famous North Alabama brewery is closing due to the adverse effects brought about by COVID-19. Decatur's Cross-Eyed Owl Brewing Company declared it would come to a permanent close at the end of October. The official announcement was posted on Facebook.
Like numerous local businesses, the brewery was hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic, with sales going down at 75 percent every month.
The business had adjusted efforts to attract millennials to live in the city.
According to Trey Atwood, co-owner of the first and only microbrewery in Decatur, he has run out of funds to resume operations less than three years after their opening.
The announcement posted on Facebook on Monday indicated that the company "suffered a severe lack of income due to COVID-19 and exhausted all the assistance available... but it hasn't been enough to endure," reported WAAY-TV.
Its last day of brewery operation would be October 31. The company stated they had exhausted all the support available to them, but the assistance is not enough to sustain them.
The owners told their customers they would forever be filled with gratitude for the time they spent with them.
According to Atwood, "COVID depressed our sales. Sales are down anywhere from 50% to 75% pre-COVID," reported The Decatur Daily.
"We used the government assistance programs, and they were woefully insufficient. This pandemic has been going on nine months," stated the co-owner, reported Chron.
The assistance money was good for maybe six to eight weeks. We ran out of money," he added.
Their Facebook statement read that they would like to thank customers for appreciating their amazing beer and soda and thanked them for enjoying the space they worked hard to construct for customers.
The brewery is located at Decatur's 105 1st Avenue NE.
Their post indicated that the news would sadden numerous people but none more so than the owners. The brewery was launched in 2018 and is owned by Trey Atwood and Erin Atwood. Trey stated he and his wife exhausted their best efforts to keep the business afloat.
According to Trey, "We haven't received any local assistance or anything. We've exhausted all of the programs we have available to us. We're just out of capital. We've spent everything we could on keeping it open as long as we can, and we're at the end of the road."
The government assistance they were granted failed to be adequate.
According to Tap-room Manager Correy MacIlveen, foot traffic of 80 to 100 customers every day before the pandemic diminished to an estimated 20 to 30 following restaurants and bars being permitted to reopen for on-site seating.
Here is the full announcement:
"Cross-Eyed Owl Brewing Company will be permanently closing at the end of October. Our last day of operation will be... Posted by Cross-Eyed Owl Brewing Co. on Monday, October 19, 2020."
Another North Alabama Brewery Closed
Straight to Ale in Huntsville made an announcement on Wednesday via Facebook that their brewery would close temporarily after a worker was diagnosed with COVID-19.
According to Straight to Ale, it would reopen in mint condition following cleaning and tests for workers who could have been in contact with the person who tested positive for the virus.
