Raleigh’s Mordecai Beverage Company to close after six years

Mordecai Beverage Company, Raleigh’s first combined brewery, taproom and bottle shop, is closing after roughly six years in Gateway Plaza, removing one of the original hospitality anchors that helped give the development early momentum just north of downtown.

The brewery opened in summer 2019 and became known for making beer on-site, pouring craft beer from other local breweries and selling cans and bottles to go. Owners Andrew and Megan Christenbury said in a statement that serving the community over the past six-plus years was an honor and that the support they received far exceeded what they expected when they first opened. No exact final day has been set because the plan is to stay open until the last kegs are gone and the shelves are cleared.

Mordecai was one of the first food-and-drink tenants in Gateway Plaza, alongside Union Special Bread. The center later added Mala Pata, Miso Ramen, Fiction Kitchen, Escazu Chocolates and Natural Science, building the kind of lineup that turned the plaza into a neighborhood destination rather than just another retail strip off Crabtree Boulevard. Union Special describes itself as a bakery and café built around handmade bread, croissants and pastries using locally milled flour and locally sourced ingredients, and it grew from a small pop-up into a busy Triangle bakery operation.

The closing lands at a difficult moment for craft beer across North Carolina and the Triangle. A spring 2026 report on the state’s beer industry said beer sales in North Carolina fell 9.7% between 2021 and 2025, with 2024 marking the point when brewery closures outpaced openings. The same report said the U.S. craft-brewing total dropped to 9,578 breweries, with 481 closures. North Carolina still has more than 400 craft breweries and an industry that generated more than $2.2 billion in economic impact in 2024, but the numbers point to a sector under pressure as consumer habits, costs and demand keep shifting.

Mordecai now joins a list of recent Triangle closures that includes Funguys Brewing in Raleigh and Proximity Brewing in Durham, along with Wake County taproom shutdowns at Cotton House Craft Brewers in Cary and Vicious Fishes locations in Apex and Fuquay-Varina. For Gateway Plaza, the loss is more than one empty storefront. It is a sign that the district’s early growth story has matured into a tougher market, where even the businesses that helped define the scene are vulnerable as the local beer economy slows.