Five years after closing in Wicker Park, Links Taproom is making a comeback in West Town. This time, it’ll tack on “brewery” to its name and make its own beer alongside dozens of other craft offerings.

Links debuted in Wicker Park in 2014 and had a six-year run before closing in 2020. Owner Michael Quinlan has been trying to reopen it since, he told Block Club. He almost closed on a spot in Bucktown back in 2022 before that deal fell through, he said.

Now, Links Taproom and Brewery has found a home at 1725 W. Hubbard St., taking over soon-to-close On Tour Brewing. Though there isn’t a set date yet, the goal is to open by mid- to late-summer, Quinlan said.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/02/21 ... is-summer/

Dave148 wrote:

Five years after closing in Wicker Park, Links Taproom is making a comeback in West Town. This time, it’ll tack on “brewery” to its name and make its own beer alongside dozens of other craft offerings.

Links debuted in Wicker Park in 2014 and had a six-year run before closing in 2020. Owner Michael Quinlan has been trying to reopen it since, he told Block Club. He almost closed on a spot in Bucktown back in 2022 before that deal fell through, he said.

Now, Links Taproom and Brewery has found a home at 1725 W. Hubbard St., taking over soon-to-close On Tour Brewing. Though there isn’t a set date yet, the goal is to open by mid- to late-summer, Quinlan said.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/02/21 ... is-summer/

On Tour Brewing, a brewery known for showcasing live music at its taproom in the West Town industrial corridor south of Grand Avenue, is closing after a final “last call” on Tuesday.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/04/25 ... -moves-in/

The headline from this recent piece posted at Crain's (which I've unlocked/gifted here) could just as easily be "Craft Brewers Forced To Run Their Businesses Like Actual Businesses." Apparently, the days of only selling one's own beer (and not much else), providing minimal service and little or no food options has run its course. In other words, knowing how to brew beer isn't a sound model nor enough to sustain a going concern. Dog bites man.

Still, I wonder whether the additional spending and 'doubling down' advocated by a few interviewed in the piece is a sound trajectory. Can the lasting effects of dwindling interest and increased supply be solved via expansion, or merely delayed? It seems more like just a way to punt some fundamental problems down the road. And if only those with the deepest pockets can choose that path, what does that really mean for the "craft" aspect of craft brewing?

at chicagobusiness.com, Ally Marotti wrote:When Steve Newman decided to open Brother Chimp Brewing half a decade [that's 5 years, lol] ago, his vision was simple: Brew beer and sell most of it in his North Aurora taproom. Perhaps he’d distribute to a couple of local restaurants, at most.

Now, that vision feels like folly.

Brother Chimp is slated to open its second location next month, which will double its brewing capacity and double the number of people it can serve in its taprooms. It no longer sells just beer. There are wine, liquor and non-alcoholic options. There’s a steady rotation of food trucks at the North Aurora location, and the upcoming St. Charles location will likely serve food, too. There is live music, trivia, or some other event in the existing location almost nightly. Still, taproom sales have slowed. For Brother Chimp, it is distribution that drives growth.

“My vision of what this would be is very different than what has evolved,” Newman said. “Pre-COVID, my design might have been great, but now I need more people and more revenue. And cheaper production.

“That little brewery with people just coming in to keep it open, selling its own beer, I don’t see it working.”

=R=

I'm not sure I would want to be in any alcohol related business today. Alcohol use in the US is dropping and the drop shows no signs of slowing.

America Can Brew Way More Beer Than We Drink. It’s Causing Problems.

https://vinepair.com/articles/hop-take- ... -drinking/