Hartford's City Steam Brewery is closing its doors after decades of welcoming customers.
The owners posted the decision to close on the restaurant's social media accounts Thursday morning.
"It is with humble gratitude and a heavy heart that we announce the closing of City Steam Brewery on March 31," the post read.
The restaurant has been open on Main Street for 44 years -- 18 as Brown Thompson and Company, and another 26 as City Steam, according to the owners.
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According to the post, the restaurant has not been able to recover after a burst pipe damaged all three levels of the establishment in February 2023. City Steam reopened in May 2023, but $500,000 in repairs and being shut for four months was too much for the restaurant, according to the post.
The owners thanked its staff over the years, as well as the customers that made the restaurant a success.
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"This is my true Hartford family. I'm going to miss them," general manager Chris Leonard said.
The brewery is well-known in the community, and many are sad to see it go.
"My wife and I, after our first date on April Fool's Day in 1999, we came here after the Bushnell for dessert," customer Andrew Garretto recalls.
Another customer said she's come to the brewery for many events including wakes, funerals and birthdays.
"I'm sure it was a very difficult decision and very heartfelt decision. And we know that we're disrupting a few lives and we're going to be very supportive for everybody finding full-time work, all our full-time workers," Leonard said.
They hope someone else will come in and set the space in a new direction.
"We have had an incredible run, but it is now time to hand the reigns over to another talented and creative restaurateur," the post read.
The general manager is urging people to support downtown businesses. Even the mayor chimed in saying he hates to see them close.
"We're hopeful that we can work with them [the brewery] to find creative uses for the space and to allow for a permanent owner to come in in the future," Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said.
City Steam will continue to sell its craft beers in more than 1,500 grocery stores, liquor stores, bars and restaurants, the owners said.
