Falling Sky Brewing closing their Pour House & Deli to focus on distribution
Falling Sky Brewing is closing their Eugene, Oregon Pour House & Delicatessen pub at the end of the year
Eugene, Oregon favorite Falling Sky Brewing once had three different taproom locations in the city, and a homebrew shop, by the end of the year they will be down to one. First founded as a brewpub at 1334 Oak Alley in 2012, Falling Sky quickly became a Eugene staple, right up there with hometown success stories Ninkasi and Oakshire, but with more emphasis on food and the brewpub experience. They rebranded the Eugene homebrew supply shop that the brewery was first built next to in the adjacent building, calling it the the Falling Sky Fermentation Supply, in 2014 they opened the Pour House & Delicatessen, and in 2016 they opened Falling Sky Pizzeria on the University of Oregon campus which later became a pandemic casualty.
Fallng Sky Pour House & Delicatessen was the second brewery taproom, and put out some amazing food from scratch, including their own bakery, charcuterie, food ferments, and butcher cured meats, all from the inspiration of a Jewish-style Deli. Early on, the Pour House was named New School’s Best Brewpub in Oregon, but some of those highly time consuming and expensive features of the kitchen were simplified and rounded down to become more of a standard brewpub menu over time. Still, the Pour House had a long and successful nearly 10 year run. But when the lease is up at the end of the year, Falling Sky Pour House will close.
“We felt that with two locations servicing Eugene, we are creating pressures on ourselves as well as our community by expecting them to frequent two of our locations,” says Falling Sky owner Stephen Such. “In this effort, it spreads us thin and leaves us exposed to additional challenges at times. (Staffing & consistency in experience.) We felt that we can be mightier if we consolidate to one location and bring a more focused energy to our Falling Sky taproom/pub experience and our quality of food too. Which is what we are doing.”
After multiple owner changes, including the exit of original co-founder Jason Carriere in 2018, followed by majority owner Rob Cohen in 2021, new owner Stephen Such has been guiding the business since and has been refocusing on distribution. These trying times see many small breweries looking to broaden their reach by opening MORE locations from which they can reach new consumers and sell to higher profit margins without worrying about competing for shelf space or tap handles in the off-premise market. Falling Sky is pulling back to focus on the opposite approach.
Falling Sky signed on with Running Man Distribution for wholesale sales in August of 2023, and they have seen progress there. Recently the brewery brought on sales manager Luke Schmidt, who is passionate about expanding Falling Sky’s presence at bars and restaurants in their local Eugene and Springfield markets.
“I don’t think we can just hold tight to the old brewpub experience model that was so lucrative prior to the years leading up to the pandemic,” adds Such. “Things have changed way to much, and it’s important that we change too. Tastes are evolving and we have to adjust to those tastes. We will still make BEER… but Cocktails, Seltzers, Kombucha, Non-Alcoholic options are all vital to the the new normal. Consumers have also changed with how they go out and their expectations have changed with them.”
Falling Sky is not going away, the plan is to build up their flagship original location to host more entertainment, activities and chill down time for socializing over craft beer and good food. Part of that effort is to bring a stronger menu to the brewpub in 2024, including bringing over some favorite dishes from the Pour House.
“We are facing a big change,” says Such. “But hopeful that our communities will continue to visit and support Falling Sky. We are NOT closing… just moving back to our roots.”
Falling Sky Brewing Brewpub location is open at 1334 Oak Alley, Eugene, OR 97401, and the Pour House & Delicatessen will remain open until the end of the year.
