Oswego Brewing Company never recovered from the pandemic and didn't make it.

The reasons for this are many and varied, but the primary cause is this: We are a casualty of COVID. The shutdowns severely damaged our income model, our tap room population never returned to pre-COVID numbers, and distribution revenue never rebounded to the numbers we achieved 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.

https://www.oswegobrewing.com/

Expected to run through their inventory by September 2nd if anyone wants to get a final round.

HOURS through Sat. Sept. 2, 2023
TAP ROOM HOURS
Mon-Tue: CLOSED
Wed-Thu: 3pm-9pm
Fri-Sat: Noon-10pm
​Sun: 11AM-6pm

They were a big sponsor for Oswego's "Brew By The Bridge" beerfest. Hopefully that survives.

Oswego Brewing Company LLC | 61 Main St. | Oswego, IL | USA
331.999.1991

Not a good week for far suburban brewpubs:

MyGrain Brewing in Downtown Joliet to close this weekend citing post Covid recovery never fully came about:

https://patch.com/illinois/joliet/mygra ... rinks-food

Use to frequent this often as it was in the train station after I would get off the Rock Island Metra. Last day is August 19.

I think that, if anything, C19 $ might have kept some of these breweries afloat longer than they would’ve had there been no pandemic. It seemed like they popped up on every corner in the late 20-teens, over-saturating the market for micro-beer, let alone the brew pub concept.

Industry Ales will open its doors in the Chicago Loop at 230 S Wabash Ave

https://whatnowchicago.com/industry-ale ... cago-loop/

Choose Chicago recently announced the launch of the Chicago Brew Pass, a new initiative to promote exploration of Chicago’s award-winning craft brewery scene. Through the Brew Pass, the first-ever digital pass of its kind in Chicago, locals and visitors can check in at breweries across the city and earn points that can be redeemed for fun, limited-edition prizes. Participants can use the Brew Pass to explore over 20 participating craft breweries at their own pace and start earning rewards one pint at a time

https://chicagocrusader.com/choose-chic ... breweries/

Dave148 wrote: Choose Chicago recently announced the launch of the Chicago Brew Pass, a new initiative to promote exploration of Chicago’s award-winning craft brewery scene. Through the Brew Pass, the first-ever digital pass of its kind in Chicago, locals and visitors can check in at breweries across the city and earn points that can be redeemed for fun, limited-edition prizes. Participants can use the Brew Pass to explore over 20 participating craft breweries at their own pace and start earning rewards one pint at a time.

{URL snipped} This is nice, and I utter this after visiting seventy-five breweries for the ICBG's #DrinkIllinois program; but I also have to direct attention that too much concentration on breweries, brewpubs, and taprooms threatens quality craft beer multi-tap bars like Kaiser Tiger, Sleeping Village, The Beer Temple, Hopleaf, Sheffield's, Delilah's, The Long Room, and Cary's Lounge.

A group of West Town breweries are once again joining forces to highlight the area’s slew of craft beer options, kicking off the renewed coalition with an Oktoberfest brew crawl this weekend.

The 11 breweries have teamed up to re-form the Chicago Brewing District, which they initially launched on a smaller scale before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those brewers include: Midwest Coast Brewing Company, On Tour Brewing Company, Goose Island Beer Company, Great Central Brewing Company, All Rise Brewing Company, Twisted Hippo Brewing, Around the Bend Beer Company, Casa Humilde Cerveceria, Burnt City Brewing, Forbidden Root and Old Irving Brewing Company.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/09/27 ... -saturday/

Other Half Brewing will open a brewery and taproom inside the Ramova Theatre, the historical movie house at 3520 S. Halsted St. that will reopen as a concert venue and dining destination.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/11/07 ... a-theatre/

Dave148 wrote:

Other Half Brewing will open a brewery and taproom inside the Ramova Theatre, the historical movie house at 3520 S. Halsted St. that will reopen as a concert venue and dining destination.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/11/07 ... a-theatre/

Other Half is quite the east coast empire making it's way west.

The Ravinia Festival, whose outdoor stage and rolling lawns come alive each summer with big-name musical acts, is suing Ravinia Brewing Company, a small Highland Park craft brewery within earshot, for trademark infringement.

Filed last month in Chicago federal court, the lawsuit alleges Ravinia Brewing, which sells whimsically named beers and tacos from its modest storefront taproom, violated a since-rescinded 2018 agreement to limit the use of their shared hometown moniker. The restriction was intended to minimize confusion between “world-renowned Ravinia” and a “local restaurant and bar,” the lawsuit alleges.

Ravinia Brewing Company failed to comply with the agreement and more recently “acted blatantly in disregard of the guidelines, further trading on — and infringing — Ravinia’s well-known registered trademark,” the nonprofit festival association alleges.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business ... story.html

Ravinia Festival sues Ravinia Brewing over name use

at chicagobusiness.com, Jack Grieve wrote:The festival has since rescinded that 2018 agreement and now alleges that the brewery "acted blatantly in disregard of the guidelines" it set forth.

The allegations include that the brewery failed to adhere to an agreed upon requirement that the words "Brewing Company" be displayed in a specific size relative to "Ravinia" on all of its branding materials.

Other allegations included that the brewery has hosted musical performances without a disclaimer making clear that it was not associated with the festival; a complaint that the brewery used marketing colors associated with the festival on a music-themed beer label; and a claim that the brewery posted images to its social media accounts promoting its products on the Ravinia Festival grounds.

Another sticking point for the festival is that Ravinia Brewing has expanded beyond Highland Park and now operates a second location in Logan Square. The new storefront is "trading on and benefiting from (the festival's) valuable goodwill and reputation," according to the complaint.

A festival spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to Crain's: "Ravinia had been in discussions with Ravinia Brewing Company about significant and unresolved concerns created by its infringement of our trademarks. Litigation was filed when it became clear the brewing company was not taking our concerns seriously"

[co-owner Kris] Walker and co-owner Jeff Hoobler admit that the brewery inadvertently broke the relative size requirement when it transitioned from 12 oz. to 16 oz. cans but has since corrected that mistake and is now well within the agreed upon requirements.

Beyond that, Walker and Hoobler said most of the other allegations are either false or overstated.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Ravinia Festival sues Ravinia Brewing over name use

at chicagobusiness.com, Jack Grieve wrote:The festival has since rescinded that 2018 agreement and now alleges that the brewery "acted blatantly in disregard of the guidelines" it set forth.

The allegations include that the brewery failed to adhere to an agreed upon requirement that the words "Brewing Company" be displayed in a specific size relative to "Ravinia" on all of its branding materials.

Other allegations included that the brewery has hosted musical performances without a disclaimer making clear that it was not associated with the festival; a complaint that the brewery used marketing colors associated with the festival on a music-themed beer label; and a claim that the brewery posted images to its social media accounts promoting its products on the Ravinia Festival grounds.

Another sticking point for the festival is that Ravinia Brewing has expanded beyond Highland Park and now operates a second location in Logan Square. The new storefront is "trading on and benefiting from (the festival's) valuable goodwill and reputation," according to the complaint.

A festival spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to Crain's: "Ravinia had been in discussions with Ravinia Brewing Company about significant and unresolved concerns created by its infringement of our trademarks. Litigation was filed when it became clear the brewing company was not taking our concerns seriously"

[co-owner Kris] Walker and co-owner Jeff Hoobler admit that the brewery inadvertently broke the relative size requirement when it transitioned from 12 oz. to 16 oz. cans but has since corrected that mistake and is now well within the agreed upon requirements.

Beyond that, Walker and Hoobler said most of the other allegations are either false or overstated.

=R=

How can you trademark the name of a town? A name that other companies, including a local country club, utilizes? Pretty sure Geographic descriptors can’t be used as trademarks. This is a head scratcher unless they’re just trying to harass a small business.

boudreaulicious wrote:How can you trademark the name of a town? A name that other companies, including a local country club, utilizes? Pretty sure Geographic descriptors can’t be used as trademarks. This is a head scratcher unless they’re just trying to harass a small business.

Ravinia is not the name of a town. As for the rest, there must be some merit or there wouldn't have been an agreement between the two parties in the first place. Ravinia Festival is hardly a bully. They're a not-for-profit organization that does a tremendous amount to support artists and their work.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:How can you trademark the name of a town? A name that other companies, including a local country club, utilizes? Pretty sure Geographic descriptors can’t be used as trademarks. This is a head scratcher unless they’re just trying to harass a small business.

Ravinia is not the name of a town. As for the rest, there must be some merit or there wouldn't have been an agreement between the two parties in the first place. Ravinia Festival is hardly a bully. They're a not-for-profit organization that does a tremendous amount to support artists and their work.

And don't forget that part of maintaining a trademark is vigorously protecting it. If that's not done, the trademark is at risk (e.g. landmark Xerox case). So, Ravinia Festival probably had little choice here but to defend. But my guess is that the brewing company's hosting live music in their space is the straw that broke the camel's back. That practice could easily lead to customer confusion. In the eyes of the law, that seems to matter.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:How can you trademark the name of a town? A name that other companies, including a local country club, utilizes? Pretty sure Geographic descriptors can’t be used as trademarks. This is a head scratcher unless they’re just trying to harass a small business.

Ravinia is not the name of a town. As for the rest, there must be some merit or there wouldn't have been an agreement between the two parties in the first place. Ravinia Festival is hardly a bully. They're a not-for-profit organization that does a tremendous amount to support artists and their work.

And don't forget that part of maintaining a trademark is vigorously protecting it. If that's not done, the trademark is at risk (e.g. landmark Xerox case). So, Ravinia Festival probably had little choice here but to defend. But my guess is that the brewing company's hosting live music in their space is the straw that broke the camel's back. That practice could easily lead to customer confusion. In the eyes of the law, that seems to matter.

=R=

In the eyes of the festival's lawyers, anyway. Will be curious to see the outcome.

It's not like the brewery was hosting a music festival or any big acts in competition with the Ravinia Festival, the article said they would have like one person with a guitar in the brewery. And haven't had one in 2 years?

For added interest, the owner of Ravinia Brewing is on Highland Park's city council.

There is a Stupey Cabin brew, the oldest structure in town built in 1847 and stewarded by the Highland Park Historical Society. I am the society's program director, because I have little else to do.

Regards,
Cathy2

AaronSinger wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:How can you trademark the name of a town? A name that other companies, including a local country club, utilizes? Pretty sure Geographic descriptors can’t be used as trademarks. This is a head scratcher unless they’re just trying to harass a small business.

Ravinia is not the name of a town. As for the rest, there must be some merit or there wouldn't have been an agreement between the two parties in the first place. Ravinia Festival is hardly a bully. They're a not-for-profit organization that does a tremendous amount to support artists and their work.

And don't forget that part of maintaining a trademark is vigorously protecting it. If that's not done, the trademark is at risk (e.g. landmark Xerox case). So, Ravinia Festival probably had little choice here but to defend. But my guess is that the brewing company's hosting live music in their space is the straw that broke the camel's back. That practice could easily lead to customer confusion. In the eyes of the law, that seems to matter.

=R=

In the eyes of the festival's lawyers, anyway. Will be curious to see the outcome.

It's not like the brewery was hosting a music festival or any big acts in competition with the Ravinia Festival, the article said they would have like one person with a guitar in the brewery. And haven't had one in 2 years?

IMO, we need fewer brewpubs and more Ravinia Festivals or places like it. There's already way too much mediocre beer on the market. Great artists, well, we can never have enough of them, and Ravinia Festival provides education and scholarships to many of them. In the end, I'd like to see Ravinia Festival and its interests protected here.

Hell, per the Crain's piece to which I linked above, the owners of the brewing company admitted they violated the agreement with Ravinia Festival, albeit inadvertently. That doesn't seem like much of a defense.

=R=

Recently opened:
Tonality Brewing
169 N Seymour Ave.
Mundelein, IL 60060
https://www.tonalitybrewing.com/

ronnie_suburban wrote:

AaronSinger wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:How can you trademark the name of a town? A name that other companies, including a local country club, utilizes? Pretty sure Geographic descriptors can’t be used as trademarks. This is a head scratcher unless they’re just trying to harass a small business.

Ravinia is not the name of a town. As for the rest, there must be some merit or there wouldn't have been an agreement between the two parties in the first place. Ravinia Festival is hardly a bully. They're a not-for-profit organization that does a tremendous amount to support artists and their work.

And don't forget that part of maintaining a trademark is vigorously protecting it. If that's not done, the trademark is at risk (e.g. landmark Xerox case). So, Ravinia Festival probably had little choice here but to defend. But my guess is that the brewing company's hosting live music in their space is the straw that broke the camel's back. That practice could easily lead to customer confusion. In the eyes of the law, that seems to matter.

=R=

In the eyes of the festival's lawyers, anyway. Will be curious to see the outcome.

It's not like the brewery was hosting a music festival or any big acts in competition with the Ravinia Festival, the article said they would have like one person with a guitar in the brewery. And haven't had one in 2 years?

IMO, we need fewer brewpubs and more Ravinia Festivals or places like it. There's already way too much mediocre beer on the market. Great artists, well, we can never have enough of them, and Ravinia Festival provides education and scholarships to many of them. In the end, I'd like to see Ravinia Festival and its interests protected here.

Hell, per the Crain's piece to which I linked above, the owners of the brewing company admitted they violated the agreement with Ravinia Festival, albeit inadvertently. That doesn't seem like much of a defense.

=R=

The violation was pretty trivial. When the brewery changed can sizes, the size of the type saying "Brewing Company" inadvertently fell to 26% the size of the type saying "Ravinia" rather than the agreed 28% -- obviously cause for a lawsuit.

As for there being an agreement in place, that can easily be due more to economics than merit. Rather than get involved in a protracted law suit, it's often better to settle, especially if you're the little guy in the case.

Just to set the record straight, Ravinia is a geographic name for a neighborhood. Ravinia was an independent town until the late 19th century when it became part of Highland Park. There are or have been a number of local businesses that used the Ravinia name -- Ravinia Barbershop, Ravinia Plumbing, Ravinia BBQ, etc.

It' well-known as a geographic area. If I say to someone I live in Ravinia, they don't think I live on the site of the music festival.

Ravinia Festival is a promoter of musical events and has become a substantial business. It's hard to think anyone will confuse a guy strumming a guitar at a pub with the Chicago Symphony or Carrie Underwood or Jethro Tull.

As a longtime Ravinia resident I see little reason to think there's confusion between the Festival and the brewpub. Neighbors I've spoken to about this agree.

It looks to us like a big guy trying to crush a little guy because the big guy's nose got out of joint. Just because an outfit is non-profit doesn't mean it can't suffer from corporate insularity or arrogance.

George R wrote:It looks to us like a big guy trying to crush a little guy because the big guy's nose got out of joint. Just because an outfit is non-profit doesn't mean it can't suffer from corporate insularity or arrogance.

Again, with trademark law, the holder is obligated to defend all potential infringements or risk losing the trademark all together. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

Not that it will likely be a determining factor in this instance but I'll stand by my opinion that Ravinia Festival's mission is far more noble and significant than that of the beer slingers . . . by any measure.

=R=

I'm watching the Ravinia story with interest because I grew up in the neighborhood and went to Ravinia school. In my first version of this post, I went farther down the rabbit hole than most would be interested to read following on what George R mentioned about the history. Suffice it to say that the park took its name from the neighborhood rather than the other way around.

Here's some information that's more useful, I think. First, here's an informative article by a local intellectual property attorney that provides some good information about the trademarks (plural) in question and the present dispute. Spoiler: both Ravinia Festival and Ravinia Brewery hold trademarks granted by the US Patent & Trademark Office.

Second, a search on the USPTO website shows that there are currently 16 active trademarks for "Ravinia" held by six different entities, two of which are Ravinia Festival and Ravinia Brewery.

Turner Häus Brewery To Open Black-Owned Bronzeville Taproom Nov. 30

https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/11/13 ... om-nov-30/

Chicago breweries and restaurants located in manufacturing areas can now legally apply for outdoor patio licenses following a City Council vote Wednesday.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/12/13 ... dd-patios/

Tangled Roots Brewing Company Slated to Open New Location at The Arboretum of South Barrington

https://whatnowchicago.com/tangled-root ... arrington/

ronnie_suburban wrote:

AaronSinger wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:How can you trademark the name of a town? A name that other companies, including a local country club, utilizes? Pretty sure Geographic descriptors can’t be used as trademarks. This is a head scratcher unless they’re just trying to harass a small business.

Ravinia is not the name of a town. As for the rest, there must be some merit or there wouldn't have been an agreement between the two parties in the first place. Ravinia Festival is hardly a bully. They're a not-for-profit organization that does a tremendous amount to support artists and their work.

And don't forget that part of maintaining a trademark is vigorously protecting it. If that's not done, the trademark is at risk (e.g. landmark Xerox case). So, Ravinia Festival probably had little choice here but to defend. But my guess is that the brewing company's hosting live music in their space is the straw that broke the camel's back. That practice could easily lead to customer confusion. In the eyes of the law, that seems to matter.

=R=

In the eyes of the festival's lawyers, anyway. Will be curious to see the outcome.

It's not like the brewery was hosting a music festival or any big acts in competition with the Ravinia Festival, the article said they would have like one person with a guitar in the brewery. And haven't had one in 2 years?

IMO, we need fewer brewpubs and more Ravinia Festivals or places like it. There's already way too much mediocre beer on the market. Great artists, well, we can never have enough of them, and Ravinia Festival provides education and scholarships to many of them. In the end, I'd like to see Ravinia Festival and its interests protected here.

Hell, per the Crain's piece to which I linked above, the owners of the brewing company admitted they violated the agreement with Ravinia Festival, albeit inadvertently. That doesn't seem like much of a defense.

=R=

A north suburban brewery with a Logan Square taproom may be forced to call it quits as it fights a pricey legal battle against a music venue with the same name.

Ravinia Brewing Company, which opened its taproom at 2601 W. Diversey Ave. in 2021, is raising money for its legal fund amid an ongoing lawsuit from Ravinia Festival, which brewery owners have been fighting for three months, they said on social media.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/01/30 ... -festival/

Not dissimilar to Apple computer's dispute with Apple records. They had a detente over their trademark dispute because Apple (the computer company) said it was sticking to the computer space. Fast-forward thirty or so years and they opened the Apple Music Store and the whole thing blew up again. As noted above, as owners of the trademark it's Ravinia Festival's obligation to police perceived infringement of its trademark.

Suncatcher Brewing is coming to 2849 W. Chicago Ave.
https://whatnowchicago.com/suncatcher-b ... park-area/

Dave148 wrote:

Orkenoy, Humboldt Park’s first brewery, is open inside the Kimball Arts Center off the 606 trail, featuring farmhouse-style beers, shareable plates, and smorrebrod (Scandanavian open-faced sandwiches), and “Neo-Nordic tiki” cocktails.

https://chicago.eater.com/2020/9/30/214 ... tos-images

Humboldt Park’s first brewery and taproom is calling it quits on its home in the Kimball Arts Center. Ørkenoy, inside the industrial arts hub Kimball Arts Center at 1757 N. Kimball Ave., will serve its last customers Sunday, the owners announced on Instagram.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/04/18 ... r-4-years/

Is/Was Brewing Has Filed For a Brick-and-Mortar Location

https://whatnowchicago.com/is-was-brewi ... -location/

How Dovetail Brewery Uses Engineer-like Precision to Master Neglected Beers – While Serving Them in Unique Ways

https://interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2 ... il-brewery