The good business at the Oxford location eventually declined, according to owner Brandon Ney. It was further hurt in 2014 when Miami University started offering a three-week winter term. That change, he said, meant a six-week break for most students instead of two weeks, meaning fewer profitable weeks for the business.
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Ney said he and co-owner Patrick Karousis believed opening a location at 103 Main St. in Hamilton seemed not only “economically feasible” but, with Spooky Nook at Champion Mill on its way, a “no-lose type situation.”
Quarter Barrel Brewery + Pub opened in Hamilton on Jan. 17, 2018 and started offering rooftop dining with views of the Great Miami River and the city’s downtown in June.
The Hamilton location, which offered six of its own brews on tap in addition to 10 guest taps, also touted a farm-to-table menu, bread baked by a family friend, and the majority of its meat from a Hanover Twp. farm.
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But “a farm-to-table concept was not what Hamilton was looking for” and the location was not profitable, Ney said. Running out of money and unable to pay employees, the decision was made to close and work to do so through the liquidation of its assets, he said.
While some may consider parking or other factors an issue in the closing of the business, Ney said that isn’t the case.
“It was a capital issue, that’s all it is,” Ney said. “It brought us down.
“Somebody out there has bigger pockets than me and can do it, but we didn’t.”
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Quarter Barrel Brewery + Pub provided notice to customers of the closing via a post to its Facebook page.
“To say that we are disappointed is an understatement,” reads the post. “So many of you made us a part of your lives over the last eight years, and we are grateful for your support and friendship. We will miss being together. Thank you for everything.”
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