Schoolhouse Brewing’s Gymnasium taproom at Emory Point will close on Oct. 27 after two years in operation.
The flagship location in Marietta will remain open.
According to a statement Schoolhouse posted on social media, “extremely high overhead costs and lower-than-expected foot traffic have made it unsustainable to continue operations.”
Co-owner Thomas Monti told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he and partner Justin Waller thought the space at 1540 Avenue Place would be a bustling location considering its proximity to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emory University, apartments and other food and beverage tenants.
But about a year ago, they realized they were spending a lot of money to keep Emory Point afloat. They tried to engage the community with comedy nights, trivia and line dancing, but it never translated well in the area, Monti said.
“(Emory Point) has a lot of potential, I just don’t know if the climate in that area is really meant for entertainment,” he said.
The past few years have been difficult for Georgia’s breweries as closures continue to trickle in. This year alone, breweries including Dry County Brewery in Kennesaw, Liquid Nation Brewing in Gainesville and Eventide Brewing in Grant Park have shuttered, and both locations of Elsewhere Brewing are set to close later this month.
Monti, a former science teacher, opened a growler/bottle shop and homebrew supply store in 2014 on Whitlock Avenue in Marietta. It closed in early 2019 and, several months later, he partnered with Waller, also a teacher, to open full-scale brewery Schoolhouse Brewing in Marietta.
The Marietta brewery, which is stylized after a schoolhouse and has the tagline “Where Education Meets Recess,” offers about 20 rotating draft beers and houses a homebrew shop in the taproom where guests can purchase kits and equipment to make Schoolhouse’s brews at home.
Once the Gymnasium closes, Monti said they’ll be dedicating all their efforts to the Marietta taproom at 840 Franklin Court.
The Gymnasium is the second tenant to shutter at Emory Point in the past few weeks. Boruboru Sushi also announced it will close later this month after eight years. The development is still home to food and beverage tenants including the General Muir, SriThai and TGM Bread.
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