Killing the Keg

When customers at the Pyramid Alehouse on K Street in downtown Sacramento left, they were looking forward to coming back for March Madness, the next Sacramento Kings game, and even baseball.

However, when some of them returned, they found this...



It was a sudden announcement that the alehouse was closed for good. No "one more for the road" night, as Brew It Up did several months ago, and the Hard Rock Café before that. It was a sudden goodbye. I can imagine the staff going to sleep employed, then waking up without a job. That happens a lot these days.

The news was first announced on Facebook, ironically the day after Beer Week. They were even featuring some of their beers at a BevMo in Citrus Heights a few days before. It looks like the main office in Seattle decided to make this move at the last second. Still, even the bar should have gotten two weeks notice.

So...why? That's what a lot of people are wondering, including this woman who was interested in spending lunch....



I know one person who posted on Facebook claimed it was due to "street urchins" bothering people. It could also be competition. When it first opened, it was the top choice for having a bite to eat downtown. Now, there's Dive Bar, Pizza Rock, K Bar, and a few others close by. KCRA says the closure was due to economic reasons, and that may be due to competition.

It's really a shame. I did go there a couple of times to try their beer. I prefer buying beer and having it at home, but the experienced of enjoying a pint at a brewpub is special.

I even went there on a Sunday, when people got a chance to "kill the keg", or empty out a keg of beer, for prizes. In fact, much of the decorations at the alehouse were still there:



They'll be a lot of people hoping to wet their whistle at the Pyramid Alehouse for sometime to come, and all they'll find is this:



The worst thing is that it will take weeks to remove the exterior. Hard Rock Café and Brew It Up took a long time to remove their decorations, and it took quite a while to remove "Power Balance" from outside the now-Sleep Train Arena.

There's already reports that someone will take over the alehouse. If so, maybe the former employees should be among the first to get a job there.