PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Iron Hill Brewery is preparing to pour again, marking a comeback less than a year after the once-expansive brewpub chain filed for bankruptcy and shut down all of its locations.
At its peak, Iron Hill operated 22 breweries and employed more than 800 people before abruptly closing last year. The new iteration will be smaller, reopening five locations with a smaller, more sustainable business. Mark Edelson, an original founder and now a board advisor, is part of the ownership group behind the revival.
“We can be more focused in a smaller number of restaurants and really pay attention to the things that made us great: the food, the beer and the service,” Edelson said.
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“There are so many people excited to come back because of their love of the brand,” he added.
The locations reopening are in Wilmington, Delaware; Huntingdon Valley; Hershey; Lancaster; and at the company’s home base on East Market Street in Center City Philadelphia.
This follows Iron Hill’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing last September and the shutdown of all locations, a move Edelson said followed years of rapid expansion that became difficult to manage, particularly after the pandemic.
Investors, including original founders like Edelson, were able to buy back the Iron Hill brand and five locations after other locations and assets were sold off as part of the bankruptcy process.
With a clean slate, Edelson says he believes loyal customers will return, and investor confidence is high ahead of a big year in Philadelphia filled with major events, including many tied to the nation’s 250th celebration.
The closure last year cost hundreds of employees their jobs, but company officials say many are expected to return. Some already have, like Matt Gundrum, the director of brewery operations, who spent 20 years with Iron Hill before the shutdown and spent the last few months as a roof salesman.
“It’s not easy to find a job anymore, the way the market is. People don’t respond quickly, I needed to find something,” Gundrum said.
“When I finally did get that phone call, it washed over me like, this is real. This is happening, and of course, I’m on board, of course I want to come back,” Gundrum added.
Edelson said reopening all five locations is expected to bring back about 400 jobs.
On paper, the effort is a new company, but Edelson said the underlying mission has not changed.
“It’s the renewed commitment to the experience of the customer and we’re really focused on that,” he said.
The Center City location is expected to be the first to reopen in mid-April. Applications are currently being accepted for that location only. It is unclear when the other four locations will reopen.
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