When I wrote about Racine Brewing Company, 303 Main St., last winter, it was the only brewery operating in the city.
A couple others have since opened but now Racine Brewing is closing, according to a Facebook post from owners Angie and Andy Molina.
According to the post, the brewery's last day will be Sept. 30.
"We appreciate every one of you and thank you for your support over the three and a half years," the statement reads. "We made so many new friends, some even becoming like family."
"We've loved observing how RBC took on a life of its own, transforming into a place that people loved not just to enjoy a great beer, but to meet with friends, bring their families and hold their events. We love that people feel like they are at home here."
The struggles facing small businesses, especially during Covid are the reason for the closing, according to the Molinas.
"The past year and a half has just been too much of a struggle with too many hurdles. We, as many other small businesses, never fully recovered from the catastrophic results of Covid-19. ... We adapted and changed as much as we were able to ... it just isn't enough to be sustainable and realistic for our family."
The Molinas, who are married and have kids, quit their jobs to open what is currently Racine’s only brewery (though not for long) in March 2018.
The beer garden they operate at Ten Club Park will be open 4-9 on Friday and noon until 10 on Saturday and then will close for good.
The taproom will be open Thursdays, 4-9 p.m., Fridays, 4-10, and Sundays, noon until 10 during September.
"Andy and I will be sharing Thursday and Saturday taproom hours and B.J. will be hanging on to his Fridays for the duration o September," Angie wrote. "We hope you can spend some time with us and share a beer."
Here is the full statement on Facebook:
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
