By Mike Finney

SMYRNA — The ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic and a crowded alcohol market created the perfect storm for Ronnie Price, founder and owner of the Blue Earl Brewing Co. It had simply become an unsustainable business model and it was time to get out and move on to his next venture, he said.

Patrons of the Blue Earl Brewing Company received an unexpected surprise when they opened the business’ Facebook page Monday.

That was when they learned that Blue Earl Brewing would be serving up last call for good in the 11,535-square-foot brewery Saturday night at 210 Artisan Drive in Smyrna, following a nearly nine-year run as Delaware’s seventh-established microbrewery.

“We’re still dealing with the after effects from COVID and with taproom sales, people just aren’t coming out as much as they used to,” Mr. Price said. “I think the economy plays into it.

“It’s a saturated alcohol market right now. You go into the liquor stores and you’re just inundated with brands and it’s hard to differentiate from among the thousands of different brands of beer, wine, spirits, ciders, hard teas, hard sodas, hard juices ... there’s so much to pick from right now and the denominator just keeps getting bigger.”

Mr. Price said it has just gotten too difficult to compete considering there has been a 450% increase in craft breweries operating in Delaware since Blue Earl opened in 2015. There are now 40 different ones to choose from throughout the First State.

Mr. Price noted that Blue Earl also distributes its beer, which has really started to affect the bottom line.

“Not every brewery in Delaware distributes and distribution kind of went down,” he said. “It was breaking every kind of record in 2021 because during COVID, folks were going out and buying. They weren’t going to bars. They were buying from liquor stores and bringing it home.

“So naturally, our package sales we’re selling for distribution were way up. Then, in 2022, they kind of dropped back around 20%, and then in 2023 they dropped yet again another 25%.”

Service industry woes

Smyrna Mayor Robert Johnson agreed that the service industry is still being affected by the COVID pandemic since people grew accustomed to staying at home.

“It’s unfortunate that they will be closing,” Mayor Johnson said of Blue Earl. “To me, it’s a symptom of businesses being affected by COVID. We have a service industry and people can’t come in and you depend on traffic. So that raises a lot of issues.

“People also don’t have money like they used to to go out and do stuff and with COVID. A lot of people just got used to being at home. A lot of people’s jobs are everybody working from home and it seems like once you start working from home, you don’t want to go out that much.”

Mayor Johnson said it is also difficult for a town of Smyrna’s size to help out businesses that find themselves struggling — particular in the aftermath of a pandemic.

“I was thinking the other day that small towns don’t have the resources for businesses that sometimes need help, especially during COVID,” he said. “The small towns, we don’t have the resources like the state does to help out.

“It would be nice if they had an economic development office that could help some businesses out during these times.”

The losses for Blue Earl Brewing became too much to bear and it became evident it was time for a change, according to Mr. Price.

That is what led to the unexpected closing.

“It’s with a heavy heart and overwhelming sadness that we announce the closure of Blue Earl Brewing Company,” the social media post read. “This is the last week of service at Blue Earl. Stop in and say goodbye. We love you Delaware, Blue Earl family, friends and fans everywhere. Thank you for 9 years of memories.”

‘Tore up’

Blue Earl hosted live music most weekends and held a monthly pick-in by the Delaware Friends of Folk.

John Kidd, board president of the Delaware Friends of Folk reference the old Hank Ballard blues song “Tore Up” when describing how he felt about Blue Earl’s closure.

“Ron and his crew welcomed us not long after they opened. Our pick-in is mainly for the players, sharing tunes, techniques and tall tales,” Mr. Kidd wrote in an email.

“Ron allowed us to do our own thing, no amplification, and his patrons seemed to appreciate the more gentle approach on a Saturday afternoon. Ron presented a variety of local talent, mostly blues-influenced. He had an open mic and was a real supporter of live music.”

Its music stage was called The Juke.

“The Juke was unique and the brews were excellent. Over the 30 or so years of our pick-in, the eight-plus years at Blue Earl is our longest stay in one spot. We will find a new place, but we and the rest of the Delaware music community have lost something valuable.”

Blue Earl Brewing will be open through Saturday evening, when it will host its “Final Last Call Party” with the Smyrna-based band Party Fowl from 7 until 11 p.m. Food by Mojo Loco will be available from 5 until 9 p.m.

Moving on

There are a lot of things that Mr. Price is going to miss about the Blue Earl Brewing Co., but he said the people will be the No. 1 void.

Obviously, his clientele will miss him, too.

The social media post that the brewery will be closing received 436 comments by noon Wednesday, stunning most with the news.

“This is very sad news,” Lynnette Hearne wrote. “I will miss this place terribly. I’ll keep the treasured memories made close to my heart.”

Joe Conway posted, “This is such a great loss for the community. I have awesome memories here and the brews are among my favorites all around.”

“I’m super sad to hear this!”, Beth Schneider Alexander wrote. “Although I must admit I’m guilty of not getting there enough. I loved the beer and atmosphere. It’s a hell of a drive for me and time just went by. I guess it’s another hard lesson in, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.’”

Mr. Price said he feels the same way toward them.

“I’m going to miss my Blue Earl family. I’m going to miss all the friends and our fans, beer lovers — Blue Earl beer fans — I’m going to miss all of them,” he said. “That’s what I’m going to miss the most is the people.

“All things happen for a reason and it’s in God’s hands. He choses when and if I’m going to do something, ultimately. I think it was God’s plan to create this amazing brand and experience for people over the course of the last nine years, but it’s time for me to move on to another mission and only God knows what that is right now.”

Features editor Craig Horleman contributed to this story.