A promising NC brewery is shutting down altogether after closing Raleigh location
A promising and popular North Carolina brewery is winding down operations following the closing of its Raleigh taproom.
The buzzy Wilmington brewery New Anthem looked to be one of the up and coming forces in North Carolina’s beer scene. But last week it closed its newest satellite taproom in Raleigh and on Wednesday announced it would close its Wilmington locations after this weekend.
New Anthem posted an image on its Instagram page Wednesday afternoon that said simply “The End” alongside a tallboy can of its flagship IPA “Neon God.” In the post, the brewery announced the immediate closing of its downtown Wilmington taproom and set the final day of its 15,000 square foot brewing space as Sunday, March 17 — St. Patrick’s Day.
“This is an indefinite closure as well barring an 11th hour surprise,” the Instagram post reasds. “All we can say to you all is, thank you, it has been an honor to make beer for you. Truly. We are grateful to have been a contributor to this community, both locally and in the great state of North Carolina. We’ll miss y’all.”
New Anthem’s history
Opened in 2016 in downtown Wilmington, New Anthem was started by Aaron Skiles and quickly became know for well crafted versions of some of today’s most popular beer styles — notably hoppy and hazy double IPAs and crispy lagers.
New Anthem opened its Raleigh location last year in the Smoky Hollow development off of Peace Street and Glenwood Avenue, seemingly marking another win for the Triangle’s beer scene. Many of North Carolina’s top breweries have added satellite locations in the area in recent years, a trend kicked off by Asheville’s Hi-Wire and Burial breweries.
But since late February New Anthem kept its Raleigh location closed, while suggesting on social media that the beer would flow again soon. Then on March 4, the brewery announced that its Raleigh location would close “indefinitely.”
“It’s painful to see and be part of, but we’re going to be keeping our Raleigh location closed indefinitely,” New Athem posted on its Raleigh Instagram account. “We attempted a few last-minute shots to keep it open, but we weren’t successful.
“The mill has been full of rumors for weeks about the fate of New Anthem Beer, and yes, we’re struggling,” the post continued. “We have been for a while. 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. However, we’re not quite done yet, we’ re still fighting.”
Then a week later New Anthem announced it would close all of its locations.
New Anthem did not respond to messages requesting comment.
In its farewell post on its Raleigh social media accounts, New Anthem thanked its supporters, but also cautioned beer fans and diners not to take their favorite spots for granted.
“Parting, just wanted to say, we have the best people… customers too,” the post reads. “I appreciate all of you, every single one and hope to see you on the other side of this. As well to mention, there are many, many breweries and other businesses alike in similar circumstances. If you like them, support them.”
This story was originally published March 14, 2024 at 6:05 AM with the headline "A promising NC brewery is shutting down altogether after closing Raleigh location."
