From Stone:
We’re extremely disappointed to announce that today we permanently closed our Napa location as a result of our landlord’s unwillingness to work with us during the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to issue a heartfelt thank you to the fans and team members that made this such a special place.
Despite multiple attempts to come to an amicable resolution with our landlord, our time as a tenant in this building has come to an end. We negotiated for broad protections in our lease in the situation that an unforeseeable event delayed or interrupted our ability to operate our business. And when the pandemic hit and shut down Stone Brewing - Napa for much of the past year and a half, we tried to no avail to work with our landlord to share the burden of the pandemic. We are disheartened by their decision to end our 20-year lease simply because we exercised our right to defer payments during some of the hardest months of the pandemic So we took our disagreement to court, and bewilderingly - considering the law and our very clear rights under the lease - the judge sided against us in a decision that will threaten protections for commercial tenants when the next pandemic or wildfire comes. We intend to vigorously appeal the trial court’s ruling, because it is wrong. If our lease did not provide protection during the pandemic, then no lease, no matter how broad, will protect a restaurant, bar or shop owner from eviction the next time a disaster impacts Napa.
We poured a tremendous amount of passion into the renovation of the beautiful historic 1877 Borreo Building. We’d intended to be a part of Napa’s vibrant downtown for many more years. The 10 barrel brewhouse at Stone Brewing – Napa had become an integral part of our beer innovation process. Our customers have become like family and were devoted craft beer fans. And the Napa team has definitely become a part of our Stone family. We will be offering the opportunity for some team members to relocate to Southern California and will do all we can to support those we leave behind in Napa, including providing severance and benefits coverage.
To the Napa community, thank you for your incredible support and welcoming us. To our Northern California fans, this will not affect the Stone beer widely available at bars, restaurants, shops and grocery stores in your area. We’re still with you, and hope you get a chance to visit any of our other California locations soon. Cheers.
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