Bay Area Brewery Closes For Coronavirus, Never Reopening

SAN LEANDRO, CA — The new coronavirus has its first business casualty in San Leandro. Cleophus Quealy Beer Company, an award-winning boutique brewery that prided itself on crafting fine ales, closed its doors this week as ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom who shut all bars, wineries and breweries statewide to slow the spread of coronavirus. When that order is lifted, Cleophus Quealy will not reopen.

In an online blog entry, the business said, "These measures are in the best interest of the public and will surely help to protect us all, but we unfortunately can’t weather the storm ahead. We’ve chosen to divert all remaining resources to pay our employees for the next 2 months, in order to help support them through this extremely difficult time."

Cleophus Quealy was located on Hester Street, not far from Metropolitan Golf Links. Each batch of beer was handmade, using fresh ingredients. "We are so proud of our team and the things we have accomplished in these five years," they wrote. "We’ve brought home two Good Food awards. We’ve helped raise over $25k for local non-profits. We’ve made and shared the beers that we love, learned a lot, and made a lot of new friends along the way."

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The blog entry thanked their loyal customers for support. The only remaining question is what will happen to the beer that is currently aging. The company is working out the answer to that — perhaps sell it to local bars or restaurants until it is gone.

Other small businesses that find themselves struggling can look to the U.S. Small Business Administration and the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency for help.

For Cleophus Quealy, any help comes too late.

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