Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant has abruptly closed all its locations.
The 29-year-old chain made the announcement Thursday in a Facebook and Instagram post: “It’s been our pleasure to serve you, and we are deeply grateful for your support, friendship, and loyalty over the years.”
“We sincerely hope to return in the future, and when we do, we promise to welcome you with open arms.”
The mass closure comes two weeks after the brewery closed its locations in Chestnut Hill, Voorhees, and Newark, Del. At the time, leaders pledged to keep other restaurants open, with CEO Mark Kirke saying “this is truly part of a larger growth story.”
The three closures left the company with 16 locations, including restaurants in Center City, Exton, Huntingdon Valley, Maple Shade, Media, Newtown, North Wales, West Chester, and Wilmington.
A Center City Iron Hill employee said workers had received a message from management at 8:30 a.m. alerting them that the company was closing all locations effective immediately, according to a copy of the message shared with The Inquirer. The employee asked not to be identified as they look for new employment opportunities.
“Due to ongoing financial challenges, the company has made the difficult decision to file for bankruptcy, and, regrettably, will be permanently closing its door,” read the note, which was unsigned and sent to employees via the company’s scheduling platform, Restaurant365.
Bankruptcy filings were not accessible in online court records as of Thursday morning.
Iron Hill was founded by Delaware home brewers Kevin Finn and Mark Edelson in 1996, and poured its first beer for customers at the Newark location near the University of Delaware.
It added more than a dozen restaurants in the years since, and expanded into South Carolina and Georgia.
In 2016, Iron Hill Brewery’s owners paid about $1.3 million to settle a class-action suit, after servers objected to paying a portion of their tips to expeditors, staffers who check orders for accuracy before they are delivered to the tables.
In 2020, amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, it opened a production brewery and began canning its beers.
Last year, the company announced it would open what would have been its 20th restaurant on Temple University’s campus.It never opened.
By The Inquirer
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