USA, TX: Mad Pecker Brewing might end beer operations to stay in business

Amid dwindling sales of suds, Northwest San Antonio's Mad Pecker Brewing may wind down the beer-production side of its business and focus on food to stay afloat, according to its owner, San Antonio Current reported on October 10.

The change could come as soon as this month, but "right now, it's week-to-week," proprietor Jason Gonzales told the Current on Wednesday. He cited competition with chain restaurants at the nearby Culebra Commons shopping area and a lack of beer culture in San Antonio as key reasons for the drop in brewing revenue.

"When we opened in 2015, there was no Stone Werks, no Bubba's," Gonzales said.

Gonzales' deliberations over what to do with Mad Pecker's brewing side comes as closures roil the Alamo City's craft-beer scene. Eleven-year-old Busted Sandal Brewing Co. last week said it's shutting down all three of its locations, and the taps went dry last month at Weathered Souls Brewing Co.

Mad Pecker has raised beer prices nearly 20% since its launch, but Gonzales said the brewing business still isn't seeing the returns he'd like. Mad Pecker also could scale back and do a smaller batches of beer, providing a potential middle ground, he added.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the brewpub's food sales have overtaken beer, now accounting for 60% of overall revenue. The menu primarily consists of pizza, burgers and sandwiches along with bar staples such as chicken tenders and fish and chips.

"If my survivability meant I had to close the brewery and operate as a restaurant, I would do that," Gonnzales said.

Gonzales added that San Antonio hasn't developed the same craft-beer culture as big cities in other parts of the country.

"I don't think there's much of a beer culture in San Antonio," Gonzales said. "There's not even that many breweries, mostly big distributors."