AKRON, Ohio — An Akron brewery that is facing economic troubles is looking for help from the public.
R. Shea Brewing has been open since 2015 in Akron and has become a staple to the community, but now they are doing everything they can in order to keep their doors open.
The brewery has launched a GoFundMe asking for over $2 million in order to keep them in business.
Owner Ronald Shea says that the brewery is facing a variety of issues from tough times, including high-interest rates on their SBA Loan for the Canal Place location buildout, wage and material inflation to a decline in the overall national craft beer market, which has translated into a huge drop in revenue along with a large rise in costs.
"We will be using these funds to pay off our high-interest SBA loan, while also keeping the rest for working capital to allow us to adapt the next few years. We also plan to finish the remodel of our Valley location. Long-term we plan to focus the Canal Place location to be more of an entertainment venue. We are not going to forget about distribution in this temporarily declining craft beer market but we plan to hire additional salespeople throughout Ohio for deeper market penetration. This will eventually lead to expanding into outside markets," said Shea on the GoFundMe page.
As of the morning of Thursday, Nov. 2, the brewery has raised just over $8,100 via the GoFundMe.
Anyone interested in donating to the brewery can click HERE.
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