REHOBOTH, Mass. (WPRI) — The owner of Anawan Brewing Company in Rehoboth, whose building was destroyed by a fire six months ago, has decided not to re-open.
“It is with careful consideration and deep regret that I must inform you that Anawan Brewing Company will not be opening its doors again. Although an extremely hard one, we have made the difficult decision to not rebuild,” owner Steffen Johnson said in on a post on social media.
On February 12 around 3 a.m., fire crews responded after a massive fire broke out at the commercial building complex on Park Street.
After several hours, the fire department deemed the building a total loss.
“The reasoning behind my decision is in large a combination of many carefully considered factors; the toll mentally, financially, and emotionally is truthfully just too much for me to personally reattempt an opening,” Johnson continued in the post.
The property housed sereval other businesses, including Duvally Construction/Heritage Realty, House of Fitness, and a restaurant that was under construction at the time of the fire.
“Although it’s been a long 6 months since we lost everything; I can still recall receiving the early morning phone call from my father informing me there had been a fire in the building that ABC got to call home for such a short time,” Johnson continued.
Since the fire, local and regional breweries held fundraisers to support the business, which took the owners five years to build.
“To everyone who had faith in me, Dan, and Anawan since the day we announced we were pursuing these dreams, WE THANK YOU!! I have said it in the beginning and I’ll say it in the end, we couldn’t have done ANY of this without the help of each and every one of you,” the post read.
You can read Johnson’s full statement here.
