UPDATED 3/2/2021: Migration Brewing Williams will open in the former Hopworks BikeBar space on March 8th.

Hopworks Urban Brewery North Williams Pub (formerly known as the Bike Bar) has permanently closed and is now available for lease as a turnkey taproom/restaurant. Bike Bar was Hopworks second location, opened in 2011. Rebranded as the North Williams Pub & Beer Garden in 2019, the satellite HUB location closed on March 19th due to the pandemic, but had partially reopened for food and beer to-go and pop-up service.

Last week Hopworks let staff at the North Williams Pub & Beergarden that they would be closing for good.

“Our lease is up for renewal in less than a year and we aren’t going to renew,” says Hopworks owner Christian Ettinger when reached for comment. “Small spaces like Williams are particularly susceptible to Covid occupancy limitations and cannot easily break even. The constant construction has been tough on access as well. We are focusing all our energy on our 2 brewpubs and growing our wholesale business.”

Ettinger says COVID has been a test for everyone, but has pushed a valuable opportunity to re-evaluate the business. Having multiple locations has spread the focus thin, and smaller locations like the North Williams Pub are harder hit by the pandemic.

“When you go to three or four locations you really need to build a super robust team, you can’t be in every place at once,” says Ettinger. “The allure of more is better is fascinating. It’s an individual decision for folks and they will find their own journey.”

For Ettinger, the taproom/brewpub model works but only to a certain extent. In many aspects he believes having one large location could be even more successful. Hopworks will still operate three taprooms after the closure, their flagship Powell Blvd. location in Portland, the Hopworks Vancouver brewpub in Washington, and their PDX Airport taproom that opened in 2019 are all still in business.

“We are optimistic that we are right-sized for the future,” says Ettinger. Who notes that it’s not all doom and gloom, their larger locations are doing well and the wholesale business is booming with their key grocery store placements.

Hopworks North Williams Pub is located in the ecoFLATS mixed-use building on N. Williams, just a block away from the upcoming Grains of Wrath Portland brewpub location. The building is a net-zero energy sustainable apartment community with solar panels.

The HUB Williams pub and beer garden is on the busiest bike corridor in the city, with 2,897 sq. ft. of indoor space and both front sidewalk seating and a backyard beer garden patio that combines for 2,338 sq. ft. of outdoor space.

Inside are high exposed ceilings, hardwood booths, a full size bar area and dining room and kids play area. Outdoor bike parking space is available, and the location is only one block from the bus stop, receiving a 94 walking score and 100 bike score.

Broker Contact:

Michelle D. Rozakis • 503.222.1195 • mrozakis@capacitycommercial.com