A Holly Springs restaurant closed after 23 years. What to know
A longtime Holly Springs taproom has poured its last beer. The Bass Lake Draft House closed Monday, May 11 after 23 years, the latest Triangle bar to shut down amid shifting customer habits and rising costs.
FULL STORY: Beloved Wake County neighborhood restaurant and taproom closes after 23 years
Here are key takeaways:
- Bass Lake Draft House in Holly Springs closed for good on Monday, May 11, after opening in 2003 during the early days of American craft beer.
- Owner Charles Miller said sales have declined since COVID and costs have risen sharply since 2024. He tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a new lease before closing.
- “COVID changed everything in the restaurant world,” Miller said. “It changed people’s habits, they’re not going out like they used to. And people have been going away from beer, they’re not drinking it as much.”
- Miller still operates Village Draft House in Raleigh’s Village District. Bass Lake was once part of a larger group that included the now-closed Sawmill Taproom.
- Bass Lake’s closing follows several other recent Triangle taproom shutdowns, including Funguys in Raleigh within the past six months.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.
Drew Jackson
The News & Observer