Local 46 is closing, and its previously announced relocation plans have fallen through.
The bar at 4586 Tennyson St. in Berkeley will shutter on Sept. 30, as its landlord moves forward with plans to redevelop the corner, co-owner Niya Gingerich said.
“I’m trying to soak up all the memories and regulars we have here, and make the most of the last weeks,” Gingerich said. “I’m trying to be present in these last fleeting moments and continue the search to try to find a new home for Local.”
Niya and husband Grant Gingerich opened Local 46 in 2012. They originally closed it in October 2020, fearing thatthe business would not be able to make it through the pandemic winter with limited capacity, and knowing their previous landlord had received a certificate of demolition eligibility for the building.
But the local watering hole reopened in April 2021 after working out a temporary month-to-month lease with its new landlord, Alpine Investments and Revesco Properties.
Now, however, Alpine and Revesco expect to break ground on their three-story, 90-unit apartment project at the site by the end of the year, Alpine Managing Partner Churchill Bunn said.
Niya told BusinessDen in February 2021 that Local 46 planned to relocate a mile away to 3930 W. 38th Ave. and call itself Local 38. She said the couple had struck a deal with the owners of the 3,700-square-foot building there — Kris Miller, Christian Thompson and Chris Reiss — to renovate it.
But the group ultimately determined the cost of renovations was too high.
“The cost of land and building combined just make it prohibitive to so many small businesses, but especially the food and beverage industry where profits are low margins to start with,” Niya said. “After eight months designing every aspect, we just received jaw-dropping bids. It didn’t make sense, which is why I’m sure everyone ends up developing because the land itself is priced for development.”
The group still owns the property and are unsure whether to put it on the market or find some other use for it, according to Niya.
She said she and her husband still hope to find a new spot for the bar.
“There’s so much I’ll miss, and that’s why we’re trying to find a new home so we don’t have to break up the band and miss this feeling for too long,” Niya said.
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This story was reported by our partner BusinessDen.
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