Ninkasi Brewing Cuts 12% of Workforce

Eugene, Oregon-based Ninkasi Brewing Company has instituted “organizational and operational changes” over the last month that has led to cuts within its field sales, hospitality and management teams, Ninkasi Brewing CEO Nigel Francisco confirmed to Brewbound.

“The driving force behind this decision was the continued soft sales we are seeing on the on-premises side of the business,” Francisco wrote. “Many bars and restaurants are still closed in Oregon and the latest ‘freeze’ implemented in our state closed all bars and restaurants for on-site consumption. We needed to make changes to adapt to current market conditions.”

On November 13, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown imposed a two-week freeze on social gatherings and certain businesses as cases of COVID-19 spiked in the state. The freeze lasts through December 2. Then the state will loosen regulations, including allowing bars and restaurants within “extreme risk” counties to offer outdoor service with capacity restricted to 50 people per establishment and six people per group, according to the Oregonian. However, takeout sales are still preferred.

According to Francisco, the cuts amount to about 12% of Ninkasi’s workforce. The majority of the positions eliminated were field sales representatives, but the company also made changes to its management team, he added.

Marty Compton, who served as the company’s national sales director for nearly three years, was among those affected by the cuts.

Ninkasi has also laid off some members of its hospitality staff as the company begins “winterizing” its restaurant and 5-barrel pilot brewery, the Ninkasi Better Living Room.

The Better Living Room opened in February, just a month before the pandemic forced the closure of on-premise service at bars, restaurants and breweries.

“We did pivot and kept a limited menu for a period of time to see if a to-go business model would work,” Francisco told Brewbound. “Our business was not built around this model and we did decide to winterize the kitchen and focus on the core of our business.”

Francisco said the company plans to reopen the restaurant for onsite services “as soon as it is practical.”

In a November 10 post to the company’s blog, Ninkasi said the Better Living Room’s takeout menu and dinner club would cease operations for the season starting November 13. However, the location will remain open for beer, hard seltzer and merchandise sales.

“We are focusing our resources on the parts of the business that are doing well right now,” Francisco told Brewbound. “We are looking forward to 2021 and hopefully the continued recovery of the restaurant and craft industries.”

Ninkasi is just one of several breweries to shutter onsite service and reduce its workforce.

In mid-November, Michigan’s Founders Brewing Company temporarily laid off 89 members of its hospitality staff.

Meanwhile, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Sycamore Brewing temporarily shuttered its taproom, effective today (December 1). The company said it hopes to resume taprooms operations in early 2021.

Chicago’s Revolution Brewing and Massachusetts’ Trillium Brewing temporarily shuttered their taprooms for on-site service until spring 2021.

Other breweries shutting down own-premise locations include Minneapolis-headquartered Surly Brewing, Frederick, Maryland-based Flying Dog Brewery and Munster, Indiana-based Three Floyds. Sierra Nevada has paused brewery tours and closed taprooms at its Chico, California, and Mills River, North Carolina breweries, as has Wisconsin-based New Glarus Brewing.