Loyal patrons of Miskatonic Brewing Company, a fixture for 10 years in Darien, packed the place on its final Sunday, eager to sample at least one more pint of the brews that had them coming back for more.
Josh Mowry, 39, a co-owner of the craft brewery and pub with partner John Wyzkiewicz, said the financial strain of running a second site led to the difficult decision to close.
They had opened the Darien site in 2015 at 1000 N. Frontage Road. Its final day was Dec. 30.
They opened a second location, with a full kitchen, in downtown Naperville in December 2023. However, that site closed Nov. 1.
Sales at the Naperville site plunged, Mowry said, when a water main replacement project on Washington Street and work on a nearby bridge started in April 2024. It wasn’t done until July 2025.
Parking was reduced. Patrons had to walk on wooden bridges to get to businesses. There were long delays simply driving to the area. When the work was finished, business had slowed to the point where the financial burden of the Naperville satellite location began affecting the original brewery in Darien, he said.
The impending closure was announced earlier in December, but there was a festive feeling in the air on the final Sunday, Dec. 28, as the brew pub was filled with thirsty patrons including Bret Juliano, 37, of Addison.
A cartoonist who has drawn Dust Bunny Mafia for 12 years, Juliano was fond of Miskatonic because it “was one of the first breweries that had an art show that I participated in.”
“I’m going to miss it. They have a great community. They’re very different with the style of beers they produce. I really enjoy the Long Tongue Liar, a sour beer,” said Juliano, who purchased a four-pack to take home.
At a nearby table, Mike Friddle and Janet Wezner, both of Shorewood, took a break from a heated game of euchre to discuss one of their favorite breweries.
The husband and wife visit Miskatonic a couple times each month.
“I work for a bottle shop, a craft beer place called Iron & Glass, and we serve their beer,” said Friddle, a retired police officer turned bartender.
“Miskatonic, when we found out they were closing, we bought a bunch of their glasses and served Long Tongue Liar. If you bought an $8 pint, you kept the glass,” Friddle said.
He fondly recalled a Miskatonic pop-up event where they served bratwurst and sausages.
“The place was packed,” Friddle said. “It sucks that they’re going out of business.”
He and Wezner were “very surprised” by the closing.
“Every time we come here, I try something different,” Wezner said. “There’s never enough craft breweries. People travel to them.”
Friddle is hoping another craft brewery acquires the location.
If one does, Mike Pavlo, 53, of Woodridge, will be there. Pavlo said he has visited 296 craft breweries in Illinois.
“I’m here for research,” Pavlo joked.
“(Miskatonic) is close to the top. Well-made beer,” Pavlo said. “It’s sad. Very sad.”
Pavlo thought Mowry may have stayed in business if rather than open another location in Naperville he had instead added a kitchen or brought a food truck to the Darien site.
“This place makes great stouts. Absolutely,” he said.
There were no carry-out stout four-packs left on Dec. 28, bartender Tom Hartsfield said.
“I’ve worked here for five years. It’s a bummer. It’s been a special place for me,” Hartsfield, 33, of Forest Park, said. “I’ve made some lifelong friends here.”
“Sad to see it go, but glad to be here for the end,” he said.
Mowry is also feeling sad, but his feelings are buoyed by the warm response from patrons.
“The silver lining of what has been a bummer of the last couple months is the people who are really sorry to see us go,” Mowry said. “I didn’t want to close but the financial wounds of the Naperville location were too large for the whole organization to bear.
“We did spend a few months trying to see if we could make it work.”
In the end he didn’t want to leave employees hanging with a sudden closing. Most of the 50 employees from both locations have found new jobs, he said.
In a 2024 business profile in the Naperville Sun, Mowry was leery of the impact construction work downtown would have on business.
“We were cruising pretty well, it was working out, then we saw local traffic to the area completely dry up,” he said on Jan. 2.
“I cannot overstate the amount of comments I get from people who said they just stopped going and have not gone back,” he added.
Increased utility costs, along with higher tariffs on aluminum, didn’t help, he said.
“Our industry right now is struggling. We’re seeing it harder for everybody,” Mowry said.
“We spent a good year putting a lot of capital and effort into getting Naperville through the harder times, but when it was all said and done, there wasn’t a position afterward where we were able to keep the Darien location. …. Too many burdens brought it down.”
While he saw “a small bounce back in business” after the Naperville work ended last July, it wasn’t enough to keep the doors open.
The married father of three children – ages 10, 7 and 2 — is now looking for a job rather than developing new craft beers. But he has no regrets.
“It’s hard to find fault in the overall decision,” he said.
While he doesn’t think the craft brewing industry is over saturated, he noted there are fewer people drinking.
“Two of the largest bourbon distilleries in our country are halting production for a year,” he added.
In a social media post in December, it was clear the love from patrons was shared by the owners.
“It’s been an honor to be part of your weekend kickoff celebrations, your chill weekday rituals, and your ‘let’s just grab one’ evenings. You turned our weird little brewery into a home,” the post stated.
“We are grateful for every visit, every board game night, every story swapped across the bar. Our team poured their hearts into this place, and you met that with warmth and support from day one. … Thank you for being the best part of Miskatonic.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.