Memphis Made Brewing Closes Edge District Taproom, Continues Distribution

Memphis Made Brewing Company announced it is closing its Edge District taproom, with the final day of service set for Sunday, March 29. The news came via a social media post and the company's website on Monday, March 23, and it lands fewer than two years after the brewery made a major bet on growth by relocating there.

"We've needed a larger brewery for years and this one will allow us to grow and produce even more styles of beer," co-owner Andy Ashby said at the time of the move. The Cooper-Young location had opened in 2013, making Memphis Made the fourth craft brewery in the Memphis market. In 2024, the company relocated to a larger brewery and 5,000-square-foot taproom space in the Edge District, a growing area between Midtown and Downtown. That taproom, at 16 S. Lauderdale St., overlooks The Ravine, a former rail line turned park trail. It never quite replicated what the brewery had built over a decade in Cooper-Young.

The new taproom saw less foot traffic, limited free parking, and less of the tight-knit community found in Cooper-Young. At the same time, growing financial challenges added pressure that ultimately led to a bankruptcy filing. Memphis Made filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2025, and Memphis Beer Blog reported the company simultaneously began seeking a buyer. According to the Memphis Business Journal, Memphis Made told the Memphis Business Journal they are exploring the possibility of selling the business. The MBJ also reported the company brewed 3,100 barrels of beer in 2024, ranking it the fourth-largest local brewer.

The taproom closure appears to be a deliberate step in that sale process. Co-founder Andy Ashby told the Daily Memphian the closure was an effort to simplify the business and make it more attractive to potential buyers. The company's public announcement did not elaborate on the decision beyond "after much consideration."

Earlier in March 2026, Memphis Made had already signaled trouble, reducing taproom hours to Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays only. The permanent closure is the next step in that wind-down.

The company says it will continue to brew and distribute throughout Shelby County for the foreseeable future, and the restaurant at Memphis International Airport will also stay open. The bigger brewing space had allowed Memphis Made to expand distribution across Tennessee, Missouri, and North Mississippi, though the closing announcement specifically cited Shelby County as the near-term distribution footprint.

In its statement, the brewery thanked every customer who walked through the doors: "Whether you came in once or we saw you every week, we thank you. Being a part of a community as special as Memphis has been a true honor."

Barton and Ashby launched Memphis Made in 2013 in the Cooper-Young neighborhood, when the craft beer scene was in its infancy. Now there are more than a dozen breweries and brewpubs in Shelby County, and Memphis Made's beers will still be findable around town after March 29. Whether the brewery finds a buyer willing to reopen the taproom doors is the question that now hangs over 16 S. Lauderdale.