Golden Road Brewery closes midtown Sacramento taproom 5 years after controversial opening

Golden Road has come to an abrupt end in midtown Sacramento.

The Los Angeles-based brewery closed its taproom and restaurant at the corner of 19th and L streets on Monday, five-and-a-half years after a high-profile opening that rankled neighbors and craft beer purists around Sacramento.

“Sacramento! It’s been an honor being here for the past five years. We have made the difficult decision to close our doors effective 1/22/24,” a paper posted to Golden Road’s doors read. “While we work to take care of our people in the best way possible, be on the lookout for our beer in other retail locations around Sacramento.”

Known for its Mango Cart wheat ale and spin-offs such as Guava Cart, Golden Road rose to prominence in Southern California in the early 2010s. That attracted Anheuser-Busch, makers of Budweiser and dozens of other beer brands, which purchased Golden Road in 2015.

Golden Road revamped a corner of midtown formerly home to a run-down laundromat, walling off its new outdoor taproom with shipping containers when it opened in 2018. But neighbors in the L Street Lofts luxury condominiums complained about late-night noise, and the city of Sacramento scrambled to implement noise restrictions after mistakenly allowing Golden Road a rare no-strings-attached beer license.

While some drinkers vexed Golden Road’s neighbors, others swore off the business for its corporate ownership. Golden Road was the first “big beer” infusion into Sacramento’s craft beer scene, and a vocal subset boycotted the brand in favor of locally-owned breweries.

Golden Road also served food such as tacos, pretzels and loaded fries at its midtown location. Other beer bars in Merced County, Anaheim, Huntington Beach and Los Angeles’ Grand Central Market remain open.

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