JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Nine months after announcing that he was looking to sell his beloved Intuition Ale Works brewery, owner and founder Ben Davis shared an updated post on Facebook, saying “the right buyer never came” and the eatery will be closing in April after more than 15 years in Jacksonville.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Davis pointed to unrealized downtown growth as one of the dominoes that led to Intuition’s closure.
Davis said he opened the Bay Street location in September 2016, believing in the potential of Downtown Jacksonville.
“I was confident that Intuition could play a role in helping shape what it might become,” Davis wrote, saying he didn’t regret the ambitious move. “But that ambition was rooted in the hope that transformative downtown development would follow.
“It never did,” Davis continued. “Renderings and potential do not pay the bills.”
Davis said long-term sustainability is not possible with Intuition’s current financial burdens.
Davis announced last April that he was exploring the possibility of selling Intuition.
“For nine months, I examined every realistic path forward, hoping the right buyer would emerge with the resources and conviction to carry the brand into its next chapter,” Davis wrote.
He said that buyer never materialized, and he has no choice now but to close permanently when the lease expires in April.
The final day will be April 24, which will be the brewery’s last Bier Hall show with Yonder Mountain String Band.
Davis said the craft beer industry has changed dramatically since COVID with higher costs, thinner margins and relentless competition.
“For small independent breweries, the room for error is smaller than it has ever been,” Davis wrote.
He said the taproom, kitchen and Bier Hall will remain fully operational through April 24 and any scheduled private events will still take place.
In 2021, Intuition was one of the local breweries in Northeast Florida to help with food insecurity. It’s Bier Hall was used for volunteers to package 10,500 meals.
In his post on Wednesday, Davis thanked his staff, their partner Champion Brands, all the restaurants and venues that sold their beer, and the community that “showed up, again and again.”
“You drank our beer, packed our shows, and shared your lives with us,” Davis wrote. “Your support mattered more than you will ever know.”
Davis encouraged the community to visit the taproom and Bier Hall over the next few months and support the bars, restaurants and stores that carry Intuition beer.
“When it’s gone, it’s gone,” he wrote. “And we’re proud of every drop we made.”
Mayor Donna Deegan’s office sent a statement to News4JAX regarding Intuition’s closure, saying that it is an example of why her administration is working to “aggressively grow downtown.”
The full statement can be read below.
I’m saddened to hear that Intuition Ale Works is closing its downtown location. They’re right that small businesses can’t survive on potential alone.
For too many years, Downtown Jacksonville suffered from inertia and bad decisions that set us back. That’s why we’ve been working so aggressively to grow downtown. We are finally seeing real progress, with cranes in the air and an array of new projects in the pipeline.
We remain committed to making downtown a place where entrepreneurs, visitors and residents thrive.
Mayor Donna Deegan
Jim Lanahan, who has been a customer for 10 years, said he enjoys visiting the brewery with friends and especially likes the balcony for watching the moon rise.
He added that it’s difficult to support businesses downtown when there are only a few events to draw people in regularly.
“I’m sorry to see these folks go because it’s nice to have nice places to go to in this area,” Lanahan said.
Corey Gros is the event manager for Manifest Distilling, which is next door to Intuition. He was sad to hear the news about them closing.
“We’re friends with all their staff, their owner, they’re our neighbors,” he said. “We get along very, very well, and it’s just really heartbreaking to hear that they’re closing down.”
Lanahan tells News4JAX that he plans to visit Intuition Ale Works a few more times before it closes and remains hopeful about downtown’s future.
“Jacksonville is always about one step behind greatness downtown, and I’m hoping that the hotel going in here will stimulate growth in this area and make it more interesting,” he said.
But Intuition’s absence will be felt by the people who supported it day in and day out.
“Please come by and support Intuition. They are amazing. They’re our family, our neighbors,” said Gros. “They have amazing beer, amazing concerts here at the Bier Hall. Please come buy and support them in the next three months before they close.”