New Anthem's taproom before opening last year in the Smoky Hollow development in downtown Raleigh. Photo: Zachery Eanes/Axios
Less than a year after expanding to Raleigh, the highly rated Wilmington brewery New Anthem has closed its taproom "indefinitely" in the Smoky Hollow development, the brewery announced.
Why it matters: New Anthem was part of a wave of North Carolina craft beer makers to open outposts in Raleigh — joining breweries like Asheville's Burial and Winston-Salem's Incendiary.
- It was also one of the first tenants to open in Kane Realty's Smoky Hollow development in the Glenwood South neighborhood.
What they're saying: New Anthem has not yet responded to a request for comment, but on Instagram it called the decision "painful" and cited debt and the lingering effects of the pandemic.
- "The mill has been full of rumors for weeks about the fate of New Anthem Beer, and yes, we're struggling. We have been for a while," the post said.
- "The list is long on the reasons why… Top of the list… debt and expansion before/during COVID and the hangover from COVID that just will not go away."
What's next: The brewery did sound a note of optimism about its future — though it remains unclear.
- "[W]e're not quite done yet, we're still fighting," it wrote. "More on that to follow soon."
- Several of New Anthem's locations in Wilmington have also periodically closed in recent weeks.
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