Last call for Anchor steam beer as historic San Francisco brewery nears liquidation
SAN FRANCISCO -- The 127-year-old Anchor Brewing Company had its final service at Anchor Public Taps in San Francisco Sunday. So many people showed up they had to turn people away before they officially closed the doors.
The line to get inside stretched down the block in Potrero Hill.
Many fans of the historic San Francisco craft beer brand savored the last pints of their favorite brew and picked up whatever they could carry on their way out.
"I got a lot of memorabilia, I got some beers to go. It's kind of sad. I lived here for such a long time and, now that it's going away, I don't know. It's kind of surreal," said Tim McNeil.
The San Francisco resident picked up Christmas Ale from 2017 and 2018.
"I typically don't drink it during the summertime but I kind of felt like I had to do it," he said.
Anchor Brewing Company's heritage goes back to the California Gold Rush. Sapporo USA announced earlier in July that it would be closing because of a huge loss in sales attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Employees were given 60 days notice and promised severance packages.
Bill Covert stopped by before catching a flight back to Boston on Sunday.
"It's a shame that something like this is going away. We're just hoping that someone's going to rally," Covert said.
Anchor Brewing's future is still uncertain. Since announcing its closure, the brewery said there are about two dozen investors, including former employees, who are interested in buying the business assets during the liquidation process.
Patrick Machel is a union representative who said the investors are working with two law groups so they can present a competitive bid. The union wants to run it as a worker-owned cooperative.
"This makes the most sense. We know what we're doing. We know how to run the plant for the most part. If you try to sell it or try to sell it to another company and just fire everybody and get rid of us you're going to have a hard time training everybody," Machel said.
Anchor Brewing spokesperson Sam Singer said there should be a decision in the next month or so as to who the new owners could be.
"No one knows for sure what the outcome is but, I think, the outpouring of support for an Anchor Brewing Company -- from employees to the public to San Francisco -- is an indication of how strongly people feel about the beers and company," Singer said. "Hopefully somebody else will see that and keep the history moving forward."
On Sunday, customers shared bittersweet memories of the beloved San Francisco icon.
"I feel like it's good community. Everyone's happy. The vibes are really good. So just overall it's sad but it's a nice sendoff," McNeil said.