Brewery, winery restaurant chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

For many people, launching a brewery is a passion play. They love beer and believe they can actually create something that improves the industry.

In many ways, that’s like opening a restaurant because your friends tell you how good of a cook you are. Cooking, is of course, part of the restaurant business, but you could argue. It’s a relatively small part of it.

Knowing beer and even brewing really good beer is a very tiny percentage of running a successful brewery and restaurant. Passion does not pay the bills and having a good product does not guarantee that you will have enough customers or make enough money.

Simply opening a brewery, restaurant, let alone expanding to multiple locations, is an unbelievable feat. Anyone who does that who wasn’t already rich, has accomplished something that’s nearly impossible.

Banks do not want to loan money for passionate businesses. Just being able to open means that you had a solid business plan, understand the market, and convinced an awful lot of people that you could bring value.

💵💰Don’t miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet’s free daily newsletter💰💵

Even then, a brewery, even a brewery restaurant chain, stands on very thin ground. Margins are low, expenses have increased, and the public has gotten more careful with their money.

Add in lingering debt from the Covid pandemic days and it’s not a shock that breweries, even very successful ones, have been closing at an alarming rate.

A shocking number of breweries have closed over the past year.

Image source&colon; Getty Images

Another brewery chain files Chapter 11 bankruptcy

The owners of Stone Ridge Brewing followed sort of a dual path to success. They weren’t just hobbyists who followed a dream

“Owners Jennifer & Jeremy Shearer have been restauranteurs for several decades as they built their plan for an amazing dining experience for Johnstown and the Laurel Highlands. Stone Bridge Brewing started as a very small hobby brewery that has grown to a complete experience for everybody,” the company shared on its website.

They have tried to marry their experience running restaurants with their passion for beer and wine.

More Fast Food & Restaurant News:

“Our brewery produces several thousand gallons of both traditional and modern style beers every year. Our dinning options are a representation of everything we love; from simple and tasty taproom-style dinning, to our farm-to-table concept in CRAFT modern kitchen, and finishing with the Wine Loft which features a 1500 bottle wine cellar and an amazing assortment of Tapas and Charcuteries,” they added.

Stone Bridge Brewing Company, a craft brewery operation with associated restaurant and wine bar services based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Western District of Pennsylvania on July 15, 2025.

What Stone Bridge Brewing’s filing looks like

Stone Bridge Brewing continues to operate and has not commented publicly on its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

The company operates under several DBAs including The Craft Kitchen and The Wine Loft on Franklin.

“The small business debtor elected to proceed under Subchapter V of Chapter 11, with its petition indicating assets of $100,001-$500,000 and liabilities of $1,000,001-$10,000,000. The company reported having between 1-49 creditors,” RK Consulting shared on X, the former Twitter.

Major creditors include Bridgeway Capital ($548,000), Douglas F. Damico ($403,865), and CFS CAP, LLC dba CashFund ($330,120), with several judgment liens and unpaid vendors among its obligations.

Jeremy J. Shearer signed the petition as a member of the company, with legal representation from Christopher M. Frye of Steidl & Steinberg, P.C.

The company first started brewing beer in 2018. Its beer lineup includes:

Cheap Ass Beer: Our top selling beer, this American Light Lager is a go-to for those yard parties. Full of flavor and crisp. this beer clocks in at an easy 4.2% ABV making it the perfect chill brew. Available: Year-round on draft and in 12 ounce 6-packs.
Hazy River New England IPA: The original beer that started SBBC in 2018, this easy drinking New England Style IPA comes in at 7.4% ABV and is loaded with tropical fruit and citrus flavors. Available: Year-round on draft and in 4-packs of 16 ounce cans.
Left Coast Love West Coast IPA: Our tribute to the great west coast revolution of the IPA style, this 6.2% ABV IPA boasts a nice bitterness balanced by a touch of malt and some sweet fruit hints. Available: Year-round on draft and in 16 ounce 4-packs

Stone Bridge Brewing company also offers a number of other beers on a seasonal basis.