It makes sense that when you have a famous brand name, to try to leverage that brand into other areas. That makes even more sense when the brand is food adjacent.
Launching a successful restaurant chain, or even a single location, is really hard.
Related: Applebee’s announces major change to win back customers
Countless celebrities, for example, have tried to use their names to create restaurant chains. In fact, both the late Kenny Rogers, and the still-with-us Roger Clemens tried to use their fame to launch chicken chains.
Both failed as did restaurants started by Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, and countless other celebrities. Planet Hollywood has basically disappeared, the Fashion Cafe, a restaurant chain founded by supermodels, and the Official All-Star Cafe, a chain founded by athletes both fully failed as well.
💰💸 Don’t miss the move: SIGN UP for TheStreet’s FREE Daily newsletter 💰💸
WWE closed its Times Square restaurant and the list of other brands that closed their namesake restaurants is long and embarrassing.Â
Add Molson Coors to that list as the company’s Blue Moon Brewpub, named after Blue Moon beer, will close at the end of the month.
Blue Moon has always been a Molson Coors brand.
Image source: Shutterstock
Blue Moon no longer standing alone
Blue Moon is a Molson Coors (TAP) brand built to look like a craft beer brand. When it launched in 1995, the beer was positioned like it wasn’t owned by one of the largest beer companies in the world.
The company has kept some of that positioning based on how Blue Moon describes itself on its website.
“An appreciation for the creative process and a passion for brewing enable us at Blue Moon Brewing Company to offer a twist of flavor in our beers. From our refreshingly unique Blue Moon Belgian White Belgian-Style Wheat Ale, to the citrusy, light taste of Blue Moon Light, to the tropical wheat-style ale Mango Wheat, Blue Moon beers are one-of-a-kind, every time.​,” it posted.
Notice there’s no mention of Molson Coors.
More Retail News:
Taco Bell reveals secret strategy to take over fast foodPopular drugstore chain quietly nears deal to go privatePopular delivery service makes harsh decision amid struggles
Blue Moon Brewery opened almost 10 years ago and served as a sort of flagship location for the brand.
“In the summer of 2016, Blue Moon brought the same creativity and passion for beer to our new state-of-the-art brewery and restaurant in Denver’s RiNo District. Since then we have been brewing fan favorites (old and new), and experimenting with new and unique ingredients on our pilot brewing system. With 20+ rotating taps, we invite you to pull up a barstool and enjoy one of our special brews,” the brewpub’s website shared.
Blue Moon brewpub is closing
While Molson Coors will keep the Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field open — that’s where Blue Moon was created — the company is shuttering Blue Moon’s namesake brewpup at the end of the month.
The company shared a statement with Colorado’s 9News that made it clear that Molson Coors remains committed to the Blue Moon brand.
Blue Moon Vice President Courtney Benedict, told the television station that the brand’s plans for 2025 include “a new national campaign, new product innovation and the opening of two new branded spaces in Atlanta and Dallas, plus enhancing our hometown Sandlot Brewery in Denver, where Blue Moon was first created in 1995.”
Related: Popular Mexican dining chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Her statement acknowledged the closing of the Denver brewpub.
“We thank the dedicated team who has made our RiNo brewpub a welcoming stop in Denver and look forward to new opportunities to grow Blue Moon’s presence in Colorado and beyond,” Benedict said in a statement.
The Blue Moon Brewpub does not mention its impending closure on its webpage.
