Original Goose is Cooked
Goose Island forced to close its first brewery location after lease expires
Goose Island Beer Co. will close its brewpub after negotiations with the landlord failed to bring about a new lease deal.
Goose Island’s Wrigleyville location, 3535 N. Clark St., will remain open.
“The lease came due and we couldn’t come to an agreement on a lease renewal,” says Charles Malk, president of Deerfield-based CRM Properties Group Ltd., which owns the Clybourn building. “It’s that simple.”
“It’s an extremely sad day for me,” says John Hall, founder and CEO of Goose Island. “It’s where we started and where we developed our reputation and beers.”
Hall says Goose Island is looking at other nearby locations but has not reached an agreement to open another brewpub. The 174,600-square-foot Clybourn building, built in 1928, was a former manufacturing center that was converted into retail space in the late 1980s.
Hall says his company brewed more than 2,100 batches of beer, in 200 styles, at the Clybourn location.
Goose Island also operates Fulton Street Brewery, 1800 W. Fulton St. Overall, the company brewed more than 90,000 barrels last year, a number Mr. Hall says could increase by up to 30% this year.
What is Siebel going to do?
Monday, April 14, 2008
In a press release issued April 14, 2008, Goose Island Beer Co. announced that it will close its original brewpub location at 1800 North Clybourn Ave. in Chicago at the end of 2008. The Clybourn location hosts the Siebel Institute of Technology & World Brewing Academy classroom operations, and we are saddened to know that this landmark Chicago brewery will be closing due to the inability to negotiate a lease renewal with the building owner.
We would like to thank Goose Island for its hospitality and professionalism throughout our years in their Clybourn location. Since its establishment in 1988, the Goose Island Clybourn brewpub has helped define the rich brewing culture in the Chicago area, a tradition that will be continued through it’s brewpub in the heart of the Wrigleyville area and it’s rapidly-growing production facility on Fulton Street.
Siebel Institute intends to continue operating its 2008 courses at the Goose Island facility for the remainder of 2008, and we are working to relocate our classroom operations in 2009 to a location that continues our 136-year history of excellence in international brewing industry education and services. We invite our alumni and customers to support our transition as we continue to evolve towards meeting the needs of the brewing industry in the decades to come.
For further information contact:
Lyn Kruger at [email]lkruger@siebelinstitute.com[/email].
Thanks for that update on Siebel. That’s good to know.
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