Oswego Brewing To Shut Down: 'We Are A Casualty Of COVID'

OSWEGO, IL — COVID-19 has claimed another business: Oswego Brewing Co. The beloved downtown establishment will serve brews for the last time Sept. 2, management announced Friday.

In a message to its community on Facebook, management said the statewide shutdowns during 2020 and 2021 "severely damaged our income model." Their taproom attendance "never returned to pre-COVID numbers," and the distribution revenue didn't rebound to numbers seen before March 2020.

"To keep our doors open in 2020, we took out loans to get through, but those new loan payments, the original loan payments, the increasing cost of materials & labor, and a weak economy have become too much for us to sustain operations," the letter reads.

When the brewery, located on Main near Oswego Cyclery, opened in May 2018, village officials told Patch the site was a unique use for a property with a peculiar history.

"It was originally the garage and office of the Oswego Fire Station and many, many years ago even served as the morgue," said Economic Development Director Corinna Cole, who, after touring the space, matched up the building's owner with the brewery's founders. "We knew based on its former uses that the space had the structural capacity for heavy brewing equipment, and we’re very pleased to have recognized the potential match and to help Chris [Heinen] and Peter [Rzeminski] realize their vision for bringing this very special gathering spot to downtown Oswego."

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In the coming weeks, staff are working to package the remaining inventory of beer and will shutter the production side of the brewery. The taproom and beer garden will remain open into the first days of September to move the last of the stock. Until then, staff are "looking to enjoy one last beer with all our friends, family, and the Oswego community."

"We will miss the community that we have built over the years," management said Friday. "Oswego was always welcoming from the residents, patrons, Village Officials, and community organizations. We thank you for allowing us to be the community gathering place for so many of you!"

It's not the only brewery that attributes its recent closing to COVID-19. Beloved Romeoville brewery Metal Monkey is also shutting down.

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