Iron Hill Brewery has closed all locations

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, a craft-brewing pioneer and a family-friendly mainstay in the Philly suburbs, has abruptly closed all its locations after nearly 30 years.

The company 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 closure comes two weeks after the brewery closed 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 early September 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.

Several Iron Hill employees said they received a message from management at 8:30 a.m. Thursday that the company was closing all locations effective immediately, according to copies of the message shared with The Inquirer.

“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 afternoon.

In recent years, the chain had expanded: It opened locations in South Carolina and Georgia, started canning its beers for sale at grocery stores and beer distributors, and announced plans to open a restaurant on Temple University’s campus.

The local craft brewery community was saddened by the region’s latest brewery closing, which comes at a precarious time for the industry. According to the Brewers Association, 2024 marked the first year since 2005 that craft brewery closures outnumbered openings nationwide.

Retired sports radio host Glen Macnow, a partner in Conshohocken Brewing Company, said he would remember Iron Hill for its “innovative” beers; its commitment to suburban downtowns such as West Chester and Phoenixville; and the brewery‘s role as an “incubator.”

“Iron Hill was very instrumental in training brewers and spreading the craft brewery culture locally,” said Macnow, who hosts What’s Brewing, a TV show that promotes local breweries. “Everybody in the business should raise a toast to what Iron Hill has meant over the years.”

» READ MORE: Chris LaPierre, a longtime head brewer at Iron Hill Brewery and stalwart of the Philly brewing scene, has died at 52

Iron Hill was founded in 1996 by two Delaware home brewers, Mark Edelson and Kevin Finn. In partnership with restaurateur Kevin Davies, they poured their first beer for customers at the Newark location near the University of Delaware. Two years later, Iron Hill opened its second location in another college town, West Chester.

Borough resident Jennifer Jester, 50, called Iron Hill an “institution” that “revolutionized the restaurant scene in West Chester.” She started going there with her husband two decades ago. After the couple had children, they gravitated toward it for a kids menu her two children loved and employees who were quick to bring crayons and paper.

The restaurant’s closure leaves “a massive void” on the bustling corner of Gay and High Streets, said Jester, who, with her husband, owns nearby Jester Family Chiropractic.

“The entire business community is struggling right now,” Jester said. “If this can happen to them, what could be coming for the smaller businesses?”

At Iron Hill, “they had a beer for everyone,” said Amie Miller, 45, of Merchantville, who cofounded the South Jersey chapter of Girls Pint Out in 2013. “They had light, beginner beers if you’re dipping your toes, and you can go big and bold if you wanted a double IPA.”

The closure is “heartbreaking,” she said, “because you think they’re going to be around forever.”

Iron Hill regular Betsy Weinholtz, 58, has eaten lunch at the Voorhees location a few days a week for the past seven years. She was heartbroken it shut down earlier this month and had planned to drive 20 minutes to Maple Shade to spend about $100 in rewards.

Now, “that money gets washed up,” she said. “I don’t think there is anything I can do about it.”

Weinholtz said she’s more distraught that Iron Hill employees, many of whom had become her friends over the years, suddenly lost their jobs.

It was unclear how many Iron Hill employees lost their jobs, as neither a company spokesperson nor Edelson, the cofounder, returned requests for comment as of Thursday afternoon.

The internal message to employees indicated they would receive their final paychecks this week.

For Iron Hill sous chef Jayson Shipp, Thursday felt like a grim deja vu. He worked at the Voorhees location until it closed earlier this month, he said, and then was transferred to Maple Shade.

During his first weeks there, he said business had seemed strong.

“Honestly, it was bumping,” Shipp said. “We were going into this weekend looking extremely busy.” He noted that Iron Hill had been promoting Saturday’s “Oktoberfest takeover” and said Maple Shade had at least 80 reservations for the event.

On Thursday afternoon, Shipp, 28, stopped by the shuttered restaurant to pick up his knives.

“I’m either going to pursue being a sous chef or trying to be an executive chef,” he said, “or make a career change all together.”

At Iron Hill’s Center City location, which in 2018 opened as a central tenant in a new East Market development, two employees said business had been slower than usual this summer. But they said managers assured them their jobs were safe. The employees asked not to be identified as they looked for other employment.

In recent weeks, managers “gave us lines to say about the couple locations that closed,” said one employee. “They gave us a positive spin.”