USA, IL: Knox County Brewing Company to close its doors for good

The Knox County Brewing Company will soon close its doors for good, the family owners of the local taproom have decided, the Galesburg Register Mail reported on January 21.

The company, which opened in 2018, offers food, craft beer, kombucha and soda with a community-oriented approach. Owner Matthew Hansen said that despite the taproom’s success, the pandemic has slowed their number of customers. After he and his wife Sarah Hansen were unable to obtain a new location for the business, Hansen said the sale of the building they currently lease came as a sign for the family to move on.

“We're not hurting on money. We're not closing because there's a new brewery. We're not closing because we're being pushed out and we are not closing because Galesburg has been hard to work with,” Hansen said. “In fact, all the opposites are true.”

Hansen referred to Knox County Brewing Company’s location — about one and a half miles from downtown Galesburg — as inconvenient, but said it was never an issue until the pandemic. Hansen said the location was originally a benefit because it drew the kind of customers they were trying to attract: people who sought out the place instead of just stumbling upon it.

“At the end of 2019 we were having to turn people away because we were maximizing our capacity,” Hansen said. “Things were going fantastic, so we didn't even have time to think. We were just playing catchup all the time.”

The pandemic brought the Knox Company Brewing Company less foot traffic, but it also allowed the family to slow down and assess what they wanted, Hansen said. They expanded the brewery’s menu and brewed a beer in which 100% of the proceeds went to a community foundation to help those directly affected by COVID.

However with fewer customers, there were also less proceeds for charity. Furthermore, Hansen said they wanted to be able to do more than write checks.

“So while we might have been inconveniently located for other people, we were also kind of inconveniently located for ourselves as well,” Hansen said. “It didn't allow us to really get involved in the city and that was no one's fault except just the distance and the location.”

Hansen said he and Sarah realized they would need to move in order to become the brewery they envisioned. The couple eyed a location near Innkeeper's Coffee, but the building was purchased before they could make an offer. Before they learned the building which they currently operate out of had been sold, the couple had already decided not to renew their lease.

Hansen said the couple started their family and lived in Texas for over 15 years before coming to Galesburg. After the brewery closes, Hansen said they are 95% sure they will return to Texas and create something similar.

“I guess it's great to leave a place when you're on really good terms, but it's also kind of weird because everyone is on good terms,” Hansen said. We don't have any regrets, we just really appreciate that everybody gave us the chance they gave us and allowed this place to be what it was for us.”

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