Carlsbad, CA, June 1st, 2020 — Today, Rouleur Brewing Company (Ruler), a Carlsbad based brewery who launched in March of 2017 in H.G. Fenton’s Brewery Igniter program, announced that they are expanding and securing a long-term home. Rouleur spent the last 18 months looking for a permanent home and, as of January 2020, had located and secured a new building in Carlsbad. However, their plans were immediately terminated when the COVID-19 crisis struck the San Diego area in March 2020. The pandemic and subsequent forced closure of all food and beverage establishments caused Rouleur’s primary SBA lender to halt nearly all lending operations to the hospitality industry.
This sudden cancellation of their plans allowed Rouleur to reassess their growth strategy. During the COVID-19 shutdown, it became apparent that breweries who were overextended and burdened with large leases and debt payments were the most at risk of closure. Rouleur’s previous plan to lease and construct a brand-new brewing facility would have required a large monthly lease, a large loan to cover equipment and construction costs, as well as the selling of equity.
With the current climate and uncertainty of the industry going forward, Rouleur decided to approach its landlord, H.G. Fenton, about the possibility of exiting the Brewery Igniter program and converting its current facility to a standard lease agreement, at standard market rates, with the option to buy the equipment currently onsite. In addition, Rouleur proposed to take over the second neighboring Brewery Igniter suite and expand the brewery operations and tasting room. Rouleur and H.G. Fenton successfully reached a deal on Friday, 5/29/2020. The move allows for an immediate doubling of retail and production capacity, a standard lease rate, and ownership of the already installed equipment, all without having to sell equity and without having to borrow funds. Rouleur is excited to be able to continue to provide its world-class beers to the community of Southern California.
ONWARD & UPWARD!