This article has been updated.
Weathered Souls Brewery announced on its social media feeds that it would close its doors on Sept. 22, despite one partner’s efforts to find investors to turn the craft brewery into a Black-owned business.
He’s since moved on.
Marcus Baskerville, brewmaster and co-founder of the James Beard-nominated brewery, told the San Antonio Report a year ago that he was seeking investors to hold onto the brand after co-founder Mike Holt sought to sell his stake in the company he founded in 2016.
At the time, Weathered Souls had been named a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Bar Program, and the brewery had earned international acclaim for Baskerville’s Black is Beautiful initiative.
But Baskerville, who left the brewery in June, said the shifting craft brewing landscape made his investor pitch a difficult one. “It was a hefty ask,” he said, given that “you can start a [new] brewery a lot cheaper.”
He’s remained busy since his departure. He just released a book, Wood, Barrel and Time: The Art of Barrel Aging, and he’s currently the president of the National Black Brewers Association.
In that capacity, he’s still encouraging the diversification of the craft brewing market — fewer than 1% of craft breweries are Black-owned — and he’s been traveling the country lately speaking at state brewers conferences.
But his own dream of a Black-owned brewery has shifted. He’s now in early talks about opening a “taproom/lounge/fried chicken concept” downtown that would feature his own fried chicken recipe, honed since he was a teenager.
He said he envisions “something with more of a vibe that I always wanted for Weathered Souls, more hip hop but a little upscale,” open to everyone, but also somewhere San Antonio’s Black community feels comfortable hanging out.
Baskerville also recently launched Fresh Consulting, to share the hospitality expertise he’s acquired over the past several years. He said breweries and restaurants must become destinations that appeal to more than one demographic if they expect to hang on to consumers’ limited going-out dollars.
A spate of craft brewery closures
Weathered Souls joins other local craft breweries that have shut their doors recently, including Kinematic Brewing, Second Pitch Beer, Rough Diamond Brewery and Boerne Brewery.
Even Alamo Beer, which has expanded to become a contract brewer and bottler, is under strain. Founder Eugene Simor told the San Antonio Business Journal he is considering new investors, a merger or an asset sale to shore up the 20-year-old company, which has been operating out of its near Eastside location since 2015.
Weathered Souls cited “financial pressures [that] became difficult to sustain,” in its closure announcement last week, thanking customers for their support.
“From every Street Taco Fest to bottle release, from laughing over pints to gathering for events that brought the community together, you’ve helped make this place special & for that we truly thank you,” read part of the company’s Instagram post.
Distributed in several states as well as Mexico, Japan and Europe, Weathered Souls had opened a second taproom in Charlotte, North Carolina. That taproom closed in April.
The San Antonio brewery, located at 606 Embassy Oaks, will say goodbye “the best way we know how, with a community Bottle Share” on Saturday, Sept. 21, beginning at 11 a.m.
