California brewery to abruptly close after a decade as heartbroken fans caught off guard

Another California small business is tapping out.Brewery Draconum, a family-owned brewpub that has served Old Town Newhall for nearly a decade, will permanently close its only location after Sept.28 — delivering another gut punch to the Santa Clarita community.“Like so many others these past few years, we have tried our hardest to keep up with the rising costs but this economic climate just continues to present us with insurmountable challenges,” the brewery said.

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They couldn’t make the numbers work anymore.And in California, the numbers can be brutal.The closure comes as independent restaurants and breweries across California grapple with rising labor, rent, utility, insurance and supply costs.The state has some of the highest minimum wage and labor standards in the country, costs that can weigh especially heavily on labor-intensive restaurants and breweries, industry leaders have argued.Add steep commercial rents and utility bills in Southern California, along with state licensing fees, compliance requirements and insurance costs, and independent operators can find themselves squeezed from every direction.Brewery Draconum isn’t some giant corporation fleeing California.It’s a completely independent, family-owned business operating out of one location.There are no other branches, franchises or production facilities waiting to pick up the slack.When the doors close Sept.28, Brewery Draconum is will be gone for good.The broader tax picture isn’t exactly screaming “come do business here,” either.California, New Jersey and New York rank as the bottom three states on the Tax Foundation’s State Tax Competitiveness Index.The low rankings are driven by complex income-tax structures, high marginal corpor...