USA, CA: Pomona’s Sanctum Brewing closed, possibly permanently

Sanctum Brewing was Pomona’s first brewpub when it opened in January 2014. Six years and three more brewpubs later, Sanctum is closed, possibly permanently, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported on May 5.

“This coronavirus hit us incredibly hard,” co-founder Scott Lucas said in a video posted to Instagram last Friday. “We can no longer afford to keep the lights on.”

Sanctum was a tenant in the Pomona Packing Plant, a 1916 industrial facility that was renovated in 2013 for artist studios. Sanctum founders Jason Stevens and Lucas sold their brew at craft beer events before raising $40,000 via Kickstarter to open a brewery.

Lucas didn’t go into detail in his video and a message to Sanctum wasn’t returned in time for this column. But he said 2020 had been “a rough year for us” even before the virus meant shutting down other than for to-go sales.

Thanking customers for their support, Lucas said the hope is that another brewery will take over the space. In the meantime, he said Sanctum would try to open one last time “to sell as much beer as possible” and asked followers to stay tuned.