As craft beer has rooted itself into Los Angeles culture, downtown has played a role in fostering the sub-industry.
And as the Covid-19 pandemic upended the food and beverage industry as a whole, it also sparked an evolution of downtown’s identity in terms of who works and lives there. Fewer people are working in the area as companies relocate their offices elsewhere or employees at those that remain enjoy remote work options.
And while solutions remain elusive for the homelessness crisis, an increase in residents in apartments and condos downtown will likely dictate how business adjusts in the city center.
The breweries there want to be a part of that reimagining.
“I’ve lived in the city now for almost 15 years. My wife and I live downtown. My wife is in the homeless services sector. We are really sensitive to the construct of, ‘If you want the city to be something, you need to help create it,’” said Ben Turkel, operations manager at Boomtown Brewery. “I want our city to be full of artisans and craftspeople and to have spaces that are safe for a community to engage in and to grow in. And if I want that, I need to be part of creating that.”
Once a rare niche outpost in the Los Angeles County landscape, there are now nearly 100 locally based breweries throughout the county. Much of this growth occurred in the 10 years prior to the pandemic in 2020.
Since then, the industry has had its usual challenges only magnified. Nationally, a handful of prominent longtime craft operations have shuttered or entered bankruptcy. Locally, many continue to feel the squeeze of economics, with some beginning to close.
“Most craft breweries have the deck stacked against them. Malted barley is our No. 1 ingredient and we saw that increase in price by 40 or 50%. That’s a pretty tough nut to crack,” said Bob Kunz, owner of Highland Park Brewery, which mainly operates in Chinatown. “Besides minimum wage, we want to pay people well, so that is huge….
Read the full article here
