Stone Brewing to close Richmond taproom, ending local craft beer landmark

Stone Brewing’s taproom at 4300 Williamsburg Ave. will serve its final day on Thursday, May 14, ending one of Richmond’s most recognizable out-of-town brewery outposts. The closure was announced in a social media post on April 28, and Stone framed the move by thanking collaborators, the local beer community, Pink Boots supporters and guests who showed up for the craft.

That makes the shutdown more than a taproom changing hands. Stone planted its Richmond flag in February 2016 after choosing the city over more than 20 other states, backing the project with a $74 million investment and a promise of more than 288 jobs. The company built a 200,000-square-foot production brewery and distribution center on 14 acres in Greater Fulton, a project that once stood as one of the loudest signals that Richmond had landed on the national craft map.

The move also lands at a moment when Stone’s physical footprint is shrinking back toward California. Stone now has six other taprooms, all in California, and reporting tied to the broader ownership transition says Stone beers will no longer be brewed in Richmond after the handoff period. The Williamsburg Avenue site is expected to become a Sapporo-branded or Sapporo-focused U.S. production hub, with the Richmond taproom temporarily closing and possibly reopening later under a new identity after renovations and rebranding.

That transition is hard to miss because the Richmond facility was still being expanded not long ago. In 2022, Stone increased annual production capacity there from 150,000 barrels to 200,000 barrels, a sign the site was still being treated like a growing East Coast engine rather than a property headed for a reset. Stone’s company profile also describes the Richmond plant as a 200,000-square-foot facility with a 250-bbl Krones brew system built to send fresh beer into the Eastern U.S.

For Richmond drinkers, the loss is practical as much as symbolic. The taproom was a place for collaboration beers, brewery events and a steady link to a nationally known craft brand that helped define the city’s modern beer era. When the doors close on May 14, Richmond loses not just a venue, but a marquee reminder of how quickly even a big-name destination taproom can become a casualty of changing ownership, tighter strategy and a tougher market.