Anchor Brewing says it's open to workers' bid to rescue company from liquidation

By Mike Murphy

San Francisco's Anchor Brewing Co. may not be dead quite yet.

More than a week after announcing plans to liquidate, Anchor said Saturday that it would be open to a last-minute bid by a group of union workers to buy the 127-year-old craft brewery.

"Given our deep respect for the Anchor Union and our team members, should our employees put forward a bona-fide, legally binding offer to buy the company, one that includes a verifiable source of funds, we would gladly consider it," Anchor spokesperson Sam Singer said in a statement Saturday. He added, however, that time was running out.

Last week, a group of Anchor employees informed Anchor it wanted to make a bid.

"We are not asking for a handout or charity," union official Pedro de Sá wrote, according to a report by VinePair. "All we want is a fair shot at being able to continue to do our jobs, make the beer we love, and keep this historic institution open. We do not want the brewery and brand we love to be sold off before we even had a chance."

Singer said Friday that about two dozen investors, including the union, have expressed interest in buying some of all of Anchor's assets, according to the San Francisco Standard.

Anchor employees tweeted Saturday that things were moving "extremely fast," and that they were figuring out "the best possible way to raise funds and actually do this."

Anchor, widely regarded as the nation's first craft brewery, was sold to Japan's Sapporo Holdings Ltd. in 2017. On July 12, Anchor said it would cease operations and sell its assets as an alternative to bankruptcy, following years of declining sales and financial losses. Former workers claimed the brewery was run into the ground by a series of poor management decisions.

If employees can come up with a winning bid, it would be the second time Anchor has been saved from dire financial straits. It was set to close in 1965, but laundry-appliance scion Fritz Maytag bought it at the last minute and revived its traditional brewing process, spurring decades of hyperlocal popularity.

-Mike Murphy

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07-24-23 0801ET

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