“Punch right to the gut.”
“This one hurts.”
“You will be missed Dave and crew.”
Those were just a sampling of the Instagram comments under a post from Oro Brewing Co. on Wednesday night announcing it’s closing and its last day of taproom service will be January 25.
Owner Dave Valencia began his lengthy post with “TIME TO SAY SO LONG…” and said he is “indeed wrapping up our over-9-year run in Downtown Mesa.”
Valencia is also partnered with Golden Oak Barbecue + Taproom which opened last year in Downtown Phoenix and serves Oro beer. In an email, he told PHOENIX: “I am still involved with Golden Oak, that has not changed.”
Oro first opened in 2016 and for years lived by the motto “The Best Brewery You’ve Never Heard Of.” That was before it started capturing major accolades including:
- 2022 Arizona Craft Beer Awards Brewery of the Year
- 8-time gold medal winner at the Arizona Craft Beer Awards
- World Beer Cup and Great American Beer Festival medals
Oro is also the longest-operating brewery in Mesa since The Beer Research Institute shut down production last March and Desert Eagle closed in 2022. Main Street in Downtown Mesa is still home to 12 West Brewing, Phantom Fox Beer Co., Pedal Haus and the B.R.I. Taproom Arcade, along with Cider Corps, Arizona Distilling and host of many other restaurants and bars.
One of those neighbors, Tacos Chiwas (owner Armando Hernandez, more specifically) will take over the Oro Brewing space and convert it into a new concept, according to Valencia’s Instagram post. Hernandez and Valencia had not responded for comment at the time this story published.
