Town Hall Brewery in Minneapolis closes temporarily
Town Hall Brewery in Minneapolis closed temporarily due to surging levels of the COVID-19 omicron variant and "impending vaccination and testing requirements."
Brewpub owner Pete Rifakes shared the news on Facebook on Saturday, saying he has decided to close during "our slowest month of the year."
The brewery, which closed Sunday, will be closed "indefinitely," while Town Hall's other locations will remain open.
Rifakes told WCCO the plan is to reopen sometime in February and hopes to have staff pick up shifts at the other town hall locations.
In the Facebook post, Rifakes notes that Town Hall's popular barrel-aged week will be delayed (it's usually in February), with the goal of starting it around March 1 this year.
"We will assess our situation and the pandemic climate at the end of the month (end of January 2022). Please stay tuned for details on our reopening," the post said.
The City of Minneapolis and City of St. Paul last week announced diners will have to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative COVID-19 test to eat at food and drink establishments.
The new requirements, which are in addition to mask mandates in the two cities, go into effect on Jan. 19.
Meanwhile Minnesota is in the midst of the biggest surge of the COVID pandemic yet, with more than 10,000 new cases being reported a day in the past week, with Hennepin and Ramsey counties seeing some of the highest rates in the state.
