Dear friends,
Recently, the news that the Castle Rock Brewery building has gone up for sale has been covered in the press. (Links below.)
We are very grateful to our customers and friends of the business who are understandably concerned, and we wanted to share an open and honest update with you to provide some clarification, and hopefully, reassurances.
The site that comprises of Castle Rock Brewery and our beloved tap, the Vat and Fiddle, is currently owned by three different landlords. All of their leases align to expire in March 2027, and while we are very much at home here, some of these landlords are now considering selling their property, with an eye on redevelopment. The part of the building which resides on Traffic Street and houses our brewery and head office is the section which is currently on the market.
Naturally, this brings some mixed feelings. This place has been the heart of Castle Rock for over 25 years. It’s a place filled with many cherished memories, hard work and genuinely fun times. We’ve danced, drank, laughed, shed tears, and made lifelong friends here. But we also appreciate that we’re part of a growing, changing city, and we are grateful that our landlords have been transparent with us about their plans.
Given the size of our current brewery footprint, not of all which is currently used all of the time, we also see potential for some of the space to be used in ways that may bring even more value to Nottingham – whether by us or by others. That said, since we don’t own the property, we don’t control what comes next, and so we’re actively looking into a few new site options around Nottingham. We are optimistic about the future and while we’re unable to share more at this time, we will be sure to keep you updated. It is important to note here, that although a sale could take place in the near-future, it will not affect the terms of our current lease, meaning we would be able to stay put until March 2027. And maybe we can stay on beyond then – who knows?
On the Vat and Fiddle…
On a positive note, after conversations with the landlord of the Vat and Fiddle, we’re delighted to say that we expect a long and bright future for the pub. We are also hopeful about keeping the Old Cold Store and back garden, although that’s still subject to ongoing discussions. We will, of course, confirm the finer details as things progress. Again, the terms of the lease do secure those areas up to as long as March 2027.
Although there’s lots of moving parts and many decisions still to come, please be assured that our commitment to our team here at Castle Rock, and our desire to continue brewing the great beer we all know and love, remains as strong and unwavering as ever.
We would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the years. We are extremely lucky to be in a position to be able to look back over two-plus decades of brewing, and still be here to tell the story! It isn’t something we will ever take for granted and we are forever grateful to all those who have helped make that possible.
We look forward to sharing this next chapter with you, wherever it may take us…
Here’s to the journey ahead!
Team CRB x
Nottingham Post cover the news here.
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