Following the recent closure announcement from San Francisco's iconic Anchor Brewing Co., the San Francisco Board of Supervisors showed their support Tuesday for workers vying to run the brewery themselves.
In a resolution unanimously adopted, supervisors urged the owner of Anchor to work with the two dozen investors, workers and companies who want to take on ownership so the 127-year-old craft brewery located in Portero Hill can continue "for many generations to come."
The resolution also urges the preservation of production, distribution and repair zoning at 1705 Mariposa St. and 495 De Haro St.
The resolution comes after the craft brewery company - first established in 1896 - announced on July 12 that it has stopped brewing and filed for bankruptcy due to dwindling sales. Anchor said it will package and distribute beer while available until the end of July.
In response to the news, a group of workers expressed interest in launching an effort to purchase the brewery, according to an Anchor spokesperson.
The resolution highlights Anchor's longstanding legacy in the city that withstood many changes in ownership and challenging times in history—like the 1906 earthquake and the Prohibition era. It mentions how the brewing company became the first brewery in the world to run its own in-house distillery in 1993, and how its employees were the first to unionize in the craft beer industry in 2019.
“The San Francisco Board of Supervisors encourages whomever the new owners of Anchor Brewing to retain or rehire the existing staff as well as respect future contract negotiations with ILWU Local 10, who represent the workers, to ensure that workers continue to have employment and living wages and good benefits,” the ordinance reads.