Manatee County brewery set to close

After several years in operation, a popular Manatee County brewhouse is set to shutter. The last day in business for 3 Keys Brewing & Gastrobrew will be Sunday, May 31.

“It is not the ending we envisioned, but we are at peace knowing we gave it everything we had and that you were with us every step of the way," 3 Keys Brewing says in a social media post. 3 Keys Brewing is off State Road 64 at 2505 Manatee Ave. E.

Owners Tina Yeung and Gabriel Schmitz cited economic reasons in deciding to shutter.

“Like so many small businesses, the continued slowdown in the economy has made it no longer possible for us to keep going,” they wrote on social media.

In an email to the Business Observer, Schmitz says costs for everything from products to rent have been climbing while sales declined over the last few years. 

"We have taken on so much debt I the last year," Schmitz says in the email. While the business tried to keep operating, he adds, "we are no longer able to service our debts."

The business had been around for approximately a decade. Cathy and Jeff Douglas registered 3 Keys Brewing Company LLC with the state in September 2015. Yeung and Schmitz bought the business in 2019.

“When we purchased 3 Keys almost seven years ago, we could not have imagined the incredible community that would grow around 3 Keys,” the owners write on social media. “We made it through Covid together, we celebrated milestones together, and we built something truly special, all because of you. The friendships, the laughter and the memories we have shared mean more to us and our team than words can express.”

Yeung and Schmitz encourage people to use their rewards points this weekend toward a round and to pick up their mugs if they are part of the “mug club,” a monthly-based subscription program.