Anchor Brewing Co. executives announced the iconic brewery would be shutting down on Wednesday, July 12th. The oldest craft brewery in the United States is located in San Francisco, and has been in business for 127 years. Many patrons and employees were upset about the news, some even put in bids to take over ownership.
A brief letter was sent to Sapporo USA President, Mike Minami, by the business agent for Anchor Brewing Union. The letter expressed that the Anchor Brewing Co. employees discussed the situation, and decided they wanted to purchase the company. Should they take over, the brewery would be ran as a worker co-op.
Pedro de Sá, Business agent for International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 6, wrote the letter on behalf of the brewery workers. It makes mention of how the employees want a fair shot to keep doing their jobs, and keep the historic brewery open. de Sá asked Minami to respond by the end of the day Friday, July 21st, as to if Sapporo USA would agree to work with the union.
Brewery worker and union shop steward Patrick Machel believes the majority of union workers and managers support this longshot effort to keep the brewery. “Most of us that work here were born and raised here. We work here because we love it, we grew up with Steam Beer,” Machel said.
When representatives of Sapporo USA announced that the brewery would be ceasing operations and liquidate the business, many San Franciscans flocked to the brewery. Some entrepreneurial patrons spoke of ways to possibly save the brewery from closure, ranging from crowdfunding to a reality show about bringing the brewery “back to life.”
We will continue to report once more information is available.
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