Iconic California booze brand closing taprooms in doomed location

JuneShine’s hometown happy hour is officially last call.The San Diego-born hard kombucha brand is closing its final company-owned tasting rooms just months after pulling the plug on local brewing, capping a fizzy retreat that leaves the once high-flying beverage darling without a single company-run taproom in the US.The company announced this week that its Scripps Ranch and Santa Monica taprooms will pour their last drinks on August 28, marking the final chapter in what has become a dramatic retreat from the brick-and-mortar empire JuneShine spent years building.“There’s no easy way to say this: our beloved Santa Monica and Scripps Ranch tasting rooms are closing,” the company wrote in an Instagram post dated August 3.“This was certainly not a decision that came easy, but the right one for what’s next.”Customers are being invited back for one final round during what JuneShine, dubbed “The Last Splash.” California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.Please provide a valid email.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story The closures cap a stunning reversal for a company that, not long ago, looked unstoppable.JuneShine was founded in 2018 by University of San Diego classmates Greg Serrao and Forrest Dein. It bubbled onto the scene as California’s first organic hard kombucha brewery, opening a tasting room in North Park, San Diego before expanding at breakneck speed.The company quickly graduated from neighborhood favorite to beverage heavyweight, snapping up the former Ballast Point headquarters in Scripps Ranch and transforming the 30,000-square-foot space into a flagship brewery and taproom while hauling in $24 million to fuel its nationwide ambitions.Executives dreamed big, talking up production of more than 1 million cases a year, a coast-to-coast canned cocktail business and new taprooms far beyond California...