Fans of Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant will be disappointed to learn that the beloved restaurant and pub chain has abruptly closed all of its locations across multiple states. Here’s why and what you need to know about Iron Hill Brewery’s closure.
What’s happened?
Yesterday (Thursday, September 25), Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant made several announcements. Effective immediately, it was closing the doors to all its locations, the company revealed.
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant was founded nearly 30 years ago. Its first location opened in Newark, Delaware, in 1996. Since then, it had expanded to multiple states along the country’s eastern coast, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and South Carolina.
According to Nation’s Restaurant News, Iron Hill Brewery had 19 locations as of the end of 2024. That same year, the company’s sales increased by 4% to $104.1 million.
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Yet the modest sales growth apparently wasn’t enough to keep Iron Hill Brewery going.
Last week, the company announced it was closing three of its locations, including its original Newark location.
At the time, an Iron Hill Brewery spokesperson told NRN that the three closures were “part of the company’s ongoing efforts to adapt to a changing business landscape while focusing on strengthening its long-term growth and success.”
But just a week later, Iron Hill shocked customers and employees by announcing that its remaining 16 locations would be closing as well.
Iron Hill Brewery notifies employees of bankruptcy via email
On September 25, Iron Hill Brewery sent an email to employees notifying them that the business would be closing all locations for good.
In the email, which was obtained by the website Breweries in PA and also shared on social media forums like Reddit, Iron Hill’s leadership said, “It is with a heavy heart that I must announce the closure of all our restaurant locations effective immediately.”
The email went on to explain that it had made the “difficult decision to file for bankruptcy.”
It cited “ongoing financial challenges” as the reason for its decision. The company went on to explain that it had been trying to secure new funding to keep the chain going, but presumably, that funding was not achieved.
The same day of the email to employees, Iron Hill posted a brief notice on its website, letting customers know of the developments. USA Today reports that this same notice was posted to the doors of some of the shuttered Iron Hill restaurants.
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“After many wonderful years serving our communities, all Iron Hill locations have closed,” the notice read in part. “It has been our pleasure to serve you, and we are deeply grateful for your support, friendship, and loyalty over the years.”
The notice ends by noting that the company “sincerely hope[s] to return in the future.”
Full list of closed Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant locations
With the three closures on September 18, and the additional 16 closures on September 25, Iron Hill Brewery has now closed all of its 19 locations. Here is the list of those locations:
Delaware
Newark
Rehoboth Beach
Wilmington
Georgia
Atlanta
New Jersey
Maple Shade
Voorhees
Pennsylvania
Chestnut Hill
Exton
Hershey
Huntingdon Valley
Lancaster
Lehigh Valley
Media
Newtown
North Wales
Philadelphia
West Chester
South Carolina
Columbia
Greenville
A busy time for restaurant bankruptcies
Unfortunately, Iron Hill Brewery isn’t the only restaurant chain that has announced bankruptcy recently.
Since 2024, several established chains have announced bankruptcy plans, including Buca di Beppo, Hooters, Red Lobster, Roti, BurgerFi, and Tijuana Flats. Many of these bankruptcies have resulted in store closures.
While each company will have different factors influencing its decision to file for bankruptcy, many restaurant chains have been experiencing similar problems in recent years, which often contribute to their bankruptcy.
These problems include higher costs, inflationary pressures that lead diners to cut back on their discretionary spending, and foot traffic that has yet to recover to its pre-pandemic norms.