On September 5th Haddon Height’s Lunacy Brewing Company announced that they are closing their doors after eight successful years. Their last day of operating will be Saturday September 16th… and they are planning on making it a celebration with live music, friends and family.
Note: They have decided to close today, Sunday Sept 10th and will be announcing the operating hours for their last week very shortly
The owners of Lunacy Brewing started their Facebook announcement with the line.. This is a post we didn’t want to make.
They went on to say that after 8 years they have decided to close their doors. While it wasn’t an easy decision, they feel it’s the best one for them.
Lunacy Brewing – Six Years in Haddon Heights
Lunacy Brewing is located at 1500 Kings Highway in Haddon Heights, at the back of a commercial building which i remember from years ago as being the home to Window Factory!
Lunacy originally opened about eight years ago in Magnolia, and then four years into the brewery operations they moved over to the Kings Highway location.
For me it had been a bit of time since I visited Lunacy last, so last week I made a late “close to closing” visit on a quiet Wednesday night.
Lunacy offers a comfortable brewery setting with a reasonably large bar on the long back wall, several hi-top tables in the front section, and a nice outdoor area connected off the side of the brewery.
When my friend and I arrived (late) there were still about 20 people in the brewery, but the two of us hung out until the closing. For “research of course.
To the owners that were there that night that I didn’t get a chance to talk about the closing… my apologies for not fully introducing myself! I was quietly sitting at the bar for a beer or two getting the lay-of-the-land and before I realized… you guys had dispersed on to other things.
But let me just say it was easy to determine that you guys are just awesome people. Even with the brewery closing in a week the one owner that served me a beer just came across as an amazing guy as we joked about which beer to drink… And loved when I decided to pick a random number (representing a tap) and you poured me what was still an amazing beer. “I like your style”, he said!
And don’t worry your beer-tender for Wednesday night was awesome too!
The Facebook post announcing the closing started with a little bit of history of the brewery, going back to when they first started in Magnolia in a 1,000 square foot cinder block room with concrete floors, vaulted ceiling, and not much else.
I’m sad that I never got to visit them when they were in Magnolia!
With a big hint of humor they described the process of having to go to the restroom at the Magnolia location, where when you would open the bathroom door it actually opened up to another business filled with machinery and envelopes… and you’d have to walk the warehouse to get to the restroom.
When they made the move to Haddon Heights 4 years after opening, they made the decision to go with new equipment also, but strived to keep a very similar vibe in the atmosphere… without the long walk to the bathroom!
While they don’t clearly pinpoint a reason for the closing, the do offer some hints calling out challenges related to the pandemic, as well as the changes to brewery rules which became more restrictive.
Their Facebook postings show they opened in Haddon Heights on September 22nd, 2017. Their closing will happen almost 6 years to the day.
The owners are absolutely holding on to many wonderful memories as they called out all of the birthday celebrations they hosted, anniversaries and engagements.
They also mention all of the fun events such as trivia, vinyl Saturdays, open mics and even a record release party
Pop culture influences seem to have been a big part of lunacy in both the decor of the tasting room and even the naming of many of their beers.
During my visit I got to try Charlie Brown Boring Brown Ale, and their promotional television screens frequently showed fun photoshopped images of Star Wars and other pop culture references.
We have embraced you the way you embraced us. We have been invited to parties, invited to weddings and “crashed” another one. We attended a funeral for fellow brewer. We have met some of the best people over the last several years that we are lucky enough to now call friends.
We have to thank our amazing staff (past and present) that have helped us. We cant list everybody, but you know who you are, and we appreciate you more than you will ever know.
We will miss brewing beer, we will miss hanging out and talking with you. We will miss the others in the industry that were always there to help when we needed it.
Lunacy Brewing Closing Announcement (Facebook)
They Facebook post closes with stating again that the last day will be Saturday 9/16,and it will be a celebration with live music, friends and family… Old and new.
The folks at Lunacy are hoping to see you for their last week of opening during the final days, and the last day celebrations.
In another Facebook post yesterday they state they decided to close today (Sunday September 10th), and will be announcing their final week’s operating hours shortly.
Good luck to the folks at lunacy brewing and I hope you find success in the future!
Links and Locations
Lunacy Brewing – Last Day Saturday September 16th.
1500 Kings Hwy
Haddon Heights, NJ, New Jersey