Chicago's Vice District Brewing Closes Homewood Taproom

HOMEWOOD, IL — Vice District Brewing's troubles maintaining a taproom in the region continued this week after owners announced the brewery closed its Homewood location for daily business.

It has decided to focus on beer distribution instead, and will be open for special events only, representatives announced on Facebook this week.

"In light of recent changes and growth within Vice District, we are excited to announce a shift in focus as we dedicate resources to grow our distribution operations," they wrote."We are committed to seeing the Vice brand in restaurants, bottle shops and other spots in our beautiful city and surrounding areas."

Vice got its start in Homewood in 2016 after the village approved giving it $100,000 in incentives. Owners missed a six month deadline, and opened last summer after a 20-month delay.

Whether Vice will have to repay the village the money is not clear.

Village Manager Jim Marino told the H-F Chronicle that "if they do not remain open they must repay a portion of the incentive they were granted. We’ll be looking at the development agreement and talking to the owner about his plans.”

State Representative Curtis Tarver II, who represents portions of Chicago's South Side, co-founded Vice. He has not yet responded to requests for comment.

In May 2018, Vice was evicted from its South Loop location in Chicago because it failed to pay rent. The owners owed more than $121,761 in rent and fees. Earlier this month, Vice representative told the Chicago Tribune they planned to open a Hyde Park taproom later this year. The status of those plans is not yet clear. Owners also said Thursday on Facebook that they planned to serve beer at the South Loop Beer & Cider Fest in July.

Read more in the Chronicle.