Harmonic Brewing to close San Francisco brewery after 8 years

On Wednesday, co-founders Jon Verna and Ed Gobbo announced the closure on Instagram, sharing that they couldn’t come to a lease agreement with the property owner. Harmonic Brewing’s last day in business at 1050 26th St. is Oct. 31.

“It’s a big loss,” Gobbo, who’s also the brewmaster, told SFGATE. “This space was awesome primarily because of the community. It’s a second home for a lot of people.”

Operating costs had previously posed a challenge for Harmonic Brewing, but the pandemic derailed business operations further. Gobbo shared that production costs, which include utilities and buying raw materials to make beer, are up 30 to 40% from what they were before the pandemic. So when the property owner recently presented a higher rent, Gobbo and Verna had no other choice but to close.

The Harmonic Brewing news comes less than a month after Anchor Brewing Company announced that it was ceasing operations due to “economic pressures.” Gobbo laments that other local breweries have similarly succumbed to closures. He hopes that the city of San Francisco can work with local breweries so that they can “stay alive and thrive.”

One silver lining is that this is not a full goodbye for Harmonic Brewing. Gobbo plans to link up with other breweries to continue producing his beers. The craft brewery also has a taproom at Chase Center’s outdoor dining space Thrive City, which will stay open, and Harmonic Brewing beers will continue to be distributed at local bars and restaurants throughout the city. He added that he’s interested in debuting another Harmonic Brewing in SF or the Bay Area, but it could take time before that happens.

“We are looking for opportunities, but the numbers have to make sense,” Gobbo said. “We’re going to have to reevaluate for a while before we can shop again for a brick-and-mortar.”