Anchor Brewing, the oldest craft brewing company in the nation, officially closed Sunday. But some workers say they are not giving up on the efforts to buy Anchor and reopen the doors.
The company raised itself from the rubble after the 1906 earthquake and survived the great depression, prohibition and two world wars.
People from across the Bay Area made their way to Anchor Brewing and its neighboring public taproom Sunday for a final chance to buy some Anchor Steam beer and Anchor Brewing merch.
“Anchor Steam. Christmas ale is one of my favorites. I got one of their taps,” said San Francisco resident Mark DiGiorgio.
Anchor’s owner Sapporo Breweries announced on July 12 that it’s turning over all of Anchor’s assets to a liquidator and closing by Aug. 1.
A group of employees expressed interest in buying the company, but their union rep said Sapporo won’t share financial records, so they can make an educated bid.
“A lot of us feel like we’re getting shut out because they didn’t take us seriously,” Anchor Brewing employee union rep. Patrick Machel.
A company spokesman told NBC Bay Area by phone Sunday that the employee bid came too late and a deal was already struck to liquidate everything, from the brand name and recipes to the equipment and buildings.
He said the workers will have the same opportunities to bid on all of the assets as other bidders. but only through the liquidator.
“We’re weighing our options on what that’s actually going to look like. But Ideally, we would like to keep public taps and the brewery itself,” Machel said.
Machel added the workers have hired a legal team and have funding sources and they have the same fighting spirit that helped anchor brewing survive more than a century of hardships.
They also have a lot of customers in their corner who want to see the San Francisco staple to live on and brew another day.
“I hope the employees get a chance to match any offer that Sapporo is going to get from any outside bidders. It’s only fair,” DiGiorgio said.
“Hopefully someone buys them,” said South Bay resident Jonathan Pan.
Anchor Brewing released the following statement on Sunday:
"Anchor Brewing Co. is being fair and equal in its treatment of all parties interested in purchasing its assets.
We welcomed the union employees offer to participate in the liquidation process.
We have made it clear since we announced the closure of the brewery on July 12 that its assets would be turned over to an Assignee for the Benefit of Creditors (liquidator) at the start of August.
The employees can bid for the assets as part of the liquidation of the business. Once the liquidator is in place the union and other interested parties can gain access after signing a non-disclosure agreement to business information to inform their bids for Anchor Brewing Co. either in whole or in part.
The brewery has no flexibility to extend its operations for another month. The business is unfortunately out of money and out of time.
Anchor remains hopeful that of the many bidders who have expressed interest in buying all or some of Anchor’s assets that one of them will keep the company going for future generations.
It was a tremendously sad and difficult decision to cease operations for a brewery and company whose history dates back to the Gold Rush. The decision, however, of what happens next to Anchor will be in the hands of the ABC/liquidator."
