Wico Street Beer Co. closing Pigtown taproom amid industry downturn

A South Baltimore brewery is closing its taproom by the end of the month after more than three years in business.

Wico Street Beer Co., known for its arcade games and craft beers, is shifting to weekend operating hours only until they “run dry,” the business said in a social media post Tuesday.

In the Instagram caption announcing the closure, owners Jordan McGraw and Mike Richardson cited rising costs, changing consumer habits and “an increasingly difficult sales landscape” for small, independent breweries as reasons for shuttering the Pigtown spot. Such conditions are causing turmoil in the industry as craft brewery closures across the country outpace openings.

“If there’s one thing we hope people take away from this, it’s how important it is to support small, local businesses. Not just breweries, all of them,” the owners said. “They are labors of love built by real people, with real risk, sacrifice, and a whole lot of heart.”

The brewery opened at 1100 Wicomico St. in November 2022. Richardson previously worked in wealth management and McGraw came to Wico Street Beer Co. after spending 15 years at local breweries, according to an April social media post. In that post, the owners said the business was “struggling” and beckoned customers to come and visit, including attending a karaoke fundraiser, so they could “keep open a little longer.”

“Since COVID, habits have shifted in ways that small breweries like ours feel every single day,” the post said, citing less drinking, slowed sales, and rising costs for ingredients, rent and utilities. “We’ve done everything we can do adapt.”

Wico Street Beer Co. joins breweries like the beloved Brewer’s Art in Mount Vernon, which closed Feb. 2 in part due to changes in the industry and consumer habits. Maryland’s independent, craft distillers of liquor are also feeling the burn, as more customers are moderating their alcohol intake and trying weight-loss drugs.