A popular Triangle brewery just closed its last 2 taprooms. Here’s the reason
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- Vicious Fishes closed taprooms in Cary and Angier in the first week of June.
- Brewery co-owner said a payroll withholdings error blocked ABC permit renewals.
- Once payroll withholdings are resolved, the brewery must restart ABC permit applications.
The last two taprooms of a popular Triangle brewery closed this month, continuing a craft beer shrinkage in the region.
Vicious Fishes closed taprooms in downtown Cary and Angier in the first week of June. The popular brewery had previously closed locations in Apex and Fuquay-Varina.
Co-owner Ken O’Berry said the latest closings were led by a payroll withholdings mistake, that put a block on the brewery’s ABC permit renewals. Once that issue is resolved with the North Carolina Department of Revenue, O’Berry said he would need to reapply for Vicious Fishes’ ABC permits, something he’s not sure will happen.
“Unfortunately, when this gets resolved, we’ll have to restart the ABC permit application process from scratch, which will take weeks,” O’Berry said in a text message.
Late last year, Vicious Fishes closed two of its four taprooms, first in Fuquay-Varina and then in Apex.
On June 1, the ABC permits for taprooms in Cary and Angier were cancelled, based on public records.
Ongoing struggles
O’Berry said that while a paperwork issue led to the taproom closings, the brewery has struggled amid inflationary price spikes and tightening consumer spending.
“We’re not immune to the pressures that have been facing lots of other hospitality businesses, such as inflationary pressures, families pulling back on their discretionary spending due to elevated gas and grocery prices,” O’Berry said in a text message. “We’ve seen a slowing of buying from (restaurants) and our taprooms have been slower than the norm from previous years.”
North Carolina has been one of the nation’s leaders in craft beer for years, with acclaimed breweries and a thirsty population for specialty beers. But in the last year, multiple Triangle taprooms and breweries have closed locations, including local favorites like Funguys Brewing in Raleigh.
While the on-site permits were cancelled for Vicious Fishes, O’Berry said the brewery is able to continue making beers to sell to wholesale buyers like restaurants and bars. As for the future, he declined to speculate on whether Vicious Fishes would make a come back with another taproom.
“I’m not making any forward-looking statements as it’s very difficult as our expenses grow and taprooms remain closed,” he said in a text message. “So we’ll just have to see how things develop.”
