Gordon Biersch Brewery operated at FlatIrons Crossing for nearly 25 years. (Courtesy Gordon Biersch Brewery)
A Broomfield brewpub has closed after nearly 25 years, and a handful of ones along the Front Range have a new owner, in connection with a California firm’s acquisition of multiple brewery chains.
Kelly Companies, a San Diego-based restaurant group, recently acquired five brewery brands from Houston-based SPB Hospitality.
The first, Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, has two locations in Denver and three others elsewhere in Colorado.
The second, Chophouse & Brewery, has a location near Coors Field.
The third, Gordon Biersch Brewery, has locations in Kentucky and South Carolina. The final two brands operate in Florida.
“Those were all of (SPB’s) brewery concepts, which they sold so they could focus on others,” Kelly Cos. CEO Michael Kelly told BusinessDen.
Until recently, Gordon Biersch also operated at Broomfield’s FlatIron Crossing, where it operated in 2000. But Kelly said that location wasn’t part of the deal because seller SPB Hospitality had already been looking to close it.
“This was a location that they planned to close because of substantial structural damage to the building,” Kelly said.
SPB Hospitality did not respond to a request for comment. An executive with FlatIron Crossings owner Macerich disputed the assessment of the Broomfield building, telling BusinessDen a consultant recently found it to be in “good structural condition.”
Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch opened the first Gordon Biersch brewpub in Palo Alto, California in 1988. They added a brewery in San José in 1997. The pair sold the majority of the brewery portion to Lorenzo Frititta, the billionaire and former UFC CEO, before Gordon bought it back in 2019.
Though the company is one of the nation’s biggest brewers, Gordon and Biersch are more known for claiming to have invented the garlic fry in 1994. The food became a staple in the Bay Area, especially at AT&T park, home of the San Francisco Giants.
Gordon Biersch’s restaurants, on the other hand, have not been as successful. CraftWorks Restaurants and Breweries bought them in 1999, and SPB purchased the group out of bankruptcy in 2020.
There were once tens of restaurants around the U.S., but after several closings in recent years, that number has dwindled to two, which Kelly acquired on Dec. 10. The deal didn’t include franchised locations at airports in the U.S. and Taiwan, Kelly said.
Gordon Biersch Brewery operated at FlatIrons Crossing for nearly 25 years. (Courtesy Gordon Biersch Brewery)
A Broomfield brewpub has closed after nearly 25 years, and a handful of ones along the Front Range have a new owner, in connection with a California firm’s acquisition of multiple brewery chains.
Kelly Companies, a San Diego-based restaurant group, recently acquired five brewery brands from Houston-based SPB Hospitality.
The first, Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, has two locations in Denver and three others elsewhere in Colorado.
The second, Chophouse & Brewery, has a location near Coors Field.
The third, Gordon Biersch Brewery, has locations in Kentucky and South Carolina. The final two brands operate in Florida.
“Those were all of (SPB’s) brewery concepts, which they sold so they could focus on others,” Kelly Cos. CEO Michael Kelly told BusinessDen.
Until recently, Gordon Biersch also operated at Broomfield’s FlatIron Crossing, where it operated in 2000. But Kelly said that location wasn’t part of the deal because seller SPB Hospitality had already been looking to close it.
“This was a location that they planned to close because of substantial structural damage to the building,” Kelly said.
SPB Hospitality did not respond to a request for comment. An executive with FlatIron Crossings owner Macerich disputed the assessment of the Broomfield building, telling BusinessDen a consultant recently found it to be in “good structural condition.”
Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch opened the first Gordon Biersch brewpub in Palo Alto, California in 1988. They added a brewery in San José in 1997. The pair sold the majority of the brewery portion to Lorenzo Frititta, the billionaire and former UFC CEO, before Gordon bought it back in 2019.
Though the company is one of the nation’s biggest brewers, Gordon and Biersch are more known for claiming to have invented the garlic fry in 1994. The food became a staple in the Bay Area, especially at AT&T park, home of the San Francisco Giants.
Gordon Biersch’s restaurants, on the other hand, have not been as successful. CraftWorks Restaurants and Breweries bought them in 1999, and SPB purchased the group out of bankruptcy in 2020.
There were once tens of restaurants around the U.S., but after several closings in recent years, that number has dwindled to two, which Kelly acquired on Dec. 10. The deal didn’t include franchised locations at airports in the U.S. and Taiwan, Kelly said.
