A 7-year-old brewery in the small town of Winston, Oregon is on the market, its one of the few breweries between Roseburg and Grants Pass in a 65 mile stretch.

LookingGlass Brewery was established in it’s namesake Lookingglass, Oregon in 2015, then opened a taproom Winston, OR in April 2016. By 2019 they were expanding and installed a brand new 10bbl brewhouse in their new home in Winston. The following year they embarked on a complete overhaul of their 4,000 sq. ft. location built in 1978 to upgrade everything from electrical, to a new paint job, plumbing, and taproom.

Winston, Oregon is located 7 miles southwest of Roseburg on historic Oregon Route 99 which links them to the nearby community of Dillard, and as an easy travel point between Eugene and Grants Pass on the way to California. The small town has a population of a little more than 5,000 people and is only 2.65 square miles, but it’s in the Upmpqua winegrowing region and outdoor destination the Umpqua National Forest and it’s natural wonderland of rivers, forests and trails that attracts hikers, mountain bikers and anglers.

Winston is known mostly for the Wildlife Safari that opened in 1972 that contains lions, tigers, bears and 1,000 other animals that roam free while visitors are in the cages (which is what makes it different than a zoo.) They also raised a few professional football players; Josh Bidwell, a punter for the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And, Troy Polamalu, strong safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers who played in Super Bowl XL, Super Bowl XLIII and Super Bowl XLV.

This makes the area more desireable to the growing number of people looking to get out of city living, but still want to be connected to suburban areas and activities while living around fewer people in a more rural setting. Which may be a selling point for a potential LookingGlass Brewery buyer.

Based on what we know about LookingGlass, the brewery was doing fine until they hit a rough patch in the middle of upgrading the business at the outset of COVID-19. Before the pandemic sales were looking up, but the owners have decided to retire instead of stick with the business. They are offering up the entire operation turnkey and will stay on for 3 months of training to whomever becomes the new proprietors.

The brewery has the benefit of 26 parking spaces on a 1/2 acre lot shared with O’Reilly’s auto supply with the pub clearly visible off of Highway 99. The taproom completely remodeled in 2020; has a 8’ x 10’ walk-in beer cooler with 18 taps; deli cooler for cold glasses; custom bar; small stage; juke box & ATM; two bathrooms – one is ADA; warehouse with storage and another bathroom plus roll up-door; 3000 lb pallet stacker; two patios – lots of outdoor seating w/four outdoor heaters; office, second bar, small kitchen area.

Brewing is done on a semi-automatic 10BBL two-vessel brew system, with five jacketed/insulated fermenters (unitanks) – four 10 BBL fermenters and one 20 BBL fermenter for a total of 60 BBLs of fermentation capacity; 10’ x 15’ walk-in cooler in brewery; two commercial tankless water heaters set at 185°F; roll-up door; other equipment – a CIP cart, two-head programmable keg washer, pump on a cart, 15 CPM canning line, 7.5 ton chiller, air compressor, 750 lb Co2 dewer. The entire electrical system was upgraded in 2020 to 208V 3 phase, with upgraded plumbing as well as a fresh coat of paint outside.

LookingGlass claims that they grew nearly 100% from 2020 to 2021, much of that coming from the canning line and likely the reopening of bars and restaurants post COVID vaccines. The brewery values the inventory included in the sale at $50,000, the real estate at $1,500,000, with gross revenue $411,000, and cash flow at $30,588. The total asking price seems a bit inflated at $3,900,000, but then again a turnkey business, land, and a new lifestyle can be expensive.

LookingGlass is listed by C. Mark Nunnelee, 541-378-8565