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ForeLand Beer announced today that it is closing its Portland taproom, located at Southeast 25th Avenue and Southeast Belmont Street. Its final day in business will be Dec. 31, almost exactly three years after it opened.
“We haven’t been able to break even since opening,” says David Sanguinetti, cofounder of ForeLand. The pub’s 40% growth over last year still wasn’t enough to keep it afloat, he says. The company’s McMinnville brewery will stay open.
ForeLand opened its doors in the Buckman neighborhood in Dec. 2021. Sanguinetti and his original business partner Sean Burke spent six months renovating the 1913 Craftsman home to create the cozy taproom that they called “The Study,” according to New School Beer + Cider, which was first to report the closure.
The goal was to combine an English pub, a Belgian beer bar and a German bierstube while keeping the character of the home intact, according to the company. Features included lots of cozy nooks with vintage touches inside and a partially-covered back patio with a gas fire pit outside. The building used to be the home of Rocking Frog Café.
“Even in tough times like these making a decision like this does not come easily and we are gutted,” said ForeLand Beer’s social media post about the closure. “Too many times over the last couple of weeks we have said to ourselves, ‘what if this or that?’ but at the end of the day, we know this is the best path forward for the brewery.”