Weathered Souls, a Black-owned brewery in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood, will close permanently, according to one of its owners.
The company, based in San Antonio, Texas, opened the Charlotte location in November 2022. Saturday, April 6, will be its last day of operation. The Charlotte closure will not impact the company’s San Antonio brewery.
Why it matters: Out of the nearly 10,000 craft brewers in the United States, fewer than 1% are Black-owned, according to ProBrewer.
Weathered Souls would be the second Black-owned brewery in Charlotte to close in the last five years after Three Spirits closed its doors in 2019.
QCity Metro spoke with co-owner Mike Holt last December about the Charlotte location’s financial strains.
“I desperately don’t want to close,” he said at the time, “but it’s been a drain on the entire company.“ Holt said the company would seek investors.
Around the same time, Queen City News reported that the brewery had seen a 30% drop in revenue despite being in a rapidly growing part of the city.
In January, events manager Destiny Jerdee told QCity Metro that Weathered Souls had secured the investors needed to keep its Charlotte location open.
On Tuesday, however, Holt told QCity Metro the pending closure was due to increased inflation, a hefty tab to renovate the building, and other business costs.
“Bottom line, my funds are exhausted, so it’s time to accept the reality,” Holt said.
The brewery will be closed this week in preparation for its final day of business on Saturday, from noon to 7 p.m.
Holt’s message to Weathered Souls customers: “Come out and drink up the rest of our beer.”
