Hoping for cash infusion, craft brewer floats unique lease-buyback.
Crux Fermentation Project has listed its popular Bend brewery and taphouse for sale.
The craft brewery’s owners told The Bulletin it’s not bad news and they doubt customers will notice a change when they sell the property at 50 SW Division Street, which has greatly increased in value as Bend has grown.
“(The sale) will generate resources that will reinforce Crux’s current growth and continue to invest in innovative new products, including its expanding portfolio of non-alcoholic and unique craft beers,” reads a press release announcing the plan.
The 8,800-square foot building on 1.5 acres can be yours for $5.5 million, according to the listing by Compass Commercial.
Founded in 2011 by Larry Sidor and Paul Evers, Crux brewed 18,000 barrels last year and distributes around the West Coast. Along with the SW Division Street location, Crux has a production facility in northeast Bend and its Portland Pub opened last year in Hosford-Abernethy.
Sidor and Evers left daily operations years ago but remain majority owners. The Bulletin reports ample cash is needed to expand in the world of craft brewing, where beer is only fresh for up to six weeks so batches are small.
If the next building owners opt to not lease back the property, Crux’s owners said they would consider relocating the business.
The property at 50 SW Division Street is conveniently sandwiched between Highway 97 and Bend’s Old Mill and Box Factory shopping areas near downtown. The building was constructed in 1988 as a Lumberman’s store and later used as an AAMCO transmission shop. In 2012, it was fully remodeled into a restaurant and brewery. Crux took over in 2016 as development intensified on Bend’s west side. It added 3,000 square feet in a remodel in 2018.
Today, parked cars often line the roads leading to Crux, its parking lot full. (The matter of overflow parking has irked Crux’s neighbors in the past.) With fire pits, food carts, live music and striking views of the Cascades, it embodies much about why people visit Bend. During recent times of social distancing, Crux’s outdoor space became one of Central Oregon’s most reliable haunts.
Oregon Business profiled Evers in 2022 as he touted the environmental bona fides of his other venture, Riff, a line of sparkling caffeinated beverages made with cascara, a byproduct of the coffee-making process. Riff today offers Booyah Berry and Get-It Guava in 12-ounce cans on its website.
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