Staggeringly Good brewery taproom to close and move because of Covid-19 restrictions

The Staggeringly Good taproom, on St George’s Industrial Estate in Rodney Rd, Fratton, has closed as the space is ‘no longer viable’ with restrictions to curtail Covid-19, according to brewery co-founder Joe Ross.

The businessman said: ‘‘We’ve kept our world pretty small, with a small amount of staff producing a large amount of beer.

‘With the staff we have it’s going to be difficult to run the bar.

‘It seems to be able to convert what was already there into something that was very safe for customers and staff, and kept that tap room experience, and remain profitable – it wasn’t going to be manageable.’

The venue had grown to represent half of Staggeringly Good’s revenue, starting as a taproom in April 2016 before expanding with the House of Rapture event space in December 2018.

But social distancing measures would have seen its capacity cut from 50 customers to fewer than 20.

Now owners are considering a site for a new taproom – with the team looking to ‘future proof’ a venue over concerns that Covid-19 restrictions could go beyond the next six months.

Joe said: ‘We have a space already, and we will disclose where that is at a later date.

‘We don’t want to be moving too far away from our site.’

‘We’re looking at a fairly large space and turning that into somewhere customers feel safe, but it’s not a watered-down experience.

The 10 bar staff remain on furlough, with the brewery hoping to keep them employed and working in a new roles or at a new venue, according to Joe.

The brewery’s five staff members also remain on furlough – with all beer currently produced by one brewer.

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Joe added: ‘Our head brewer is working his guts out – he is working really hard.’

The Staggeringly Good brewery is running a delivery service available via its website.

A collection service from the brewery, also in St Georges Industrial Estate, will open on Monday, August 3.

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