A Sad Goodbye to Family-Friendly Peekskill Brewery

It was early afternoon at the Peekskill Brewery the day before Thanksgiving and the place was bustling. Kids played darts on the far wall, an Irish setter sat under a table waiting for food scraps and every seat at the bar was taken.

It was Kick the Keg Day, marking the permanent closing of the family-friendly brewpub on Water Street near Riverfront Park and Peekskill Landing Park. The Peekskill Brewery had been open for 15 years.

“This has been a place for people to gather and connect,” said Keith Berardi, who co-owns the pub with his sister, Morgan, and his wife, Kara. “We’ve seen a variety of people come here, people who were moving away from sit-down casual. This was like a home away from home.”

Like so many businesses in the hospitality industry the pandemic forced the pub to offer only curbside pickup and local deliveries. Since fully reopening the pub in 2022, beer sales and foot traffic never returned to pre-pandemic levels.

“The last three years have been devastating,” Berardi said. “Since the pandemic, our sales have not come back enough for us to keep things together. We can’t keep losing money every month. It’s not just us, the whole hospitality industry is struggling.”

According to the National Restaurant Association, although food service has made a post-pandemic comeback in the last two years, the rising cost of food, equipment and labor are ongoing challenges.

“It’s a sad day,” said Henry Lopez as he filled pints and mugs with some of the home-brewed frothy pilsners or IPAs at the tap. “I’ve been working here for 14 years.”

Helping Lopez was server Anika Fatouros who was hustling tables with plates filled with burgers, chicken empanadas and sweet potato fries.

“I’ve been working here for the last 12 years,” Fatouros said. “I’ve learned so much about different beers and how to pair beer and food. The Berardis are like a family and as owners they are amazing.”

Sipping their beer at the bar were two women who have been coming to the Peekskill Brewery for the last eight years. Ruth Leon of Cortlandt was sitting with her longtime friend, Emily Lugo of Beacon, enjoying what they said has been their favorite pub.

“This is such an easy place to hang out, even on weekdays,” Leon said. “There hasn’t been any place that is comparable.”

Lugo, who had just heard the pub was closing after arriving on Wednesday, drove from her home in Beacon to meet Leon.

“I knew I had to come down here before going to work and have one last beer,” Lugo said.

A few seats away at the bar was Brian Hauswirth of Croton-on-Hudson who said he had been coming to the brewery for the last five years.

“This has been my favorite place to go because everyone can come here with their kids and dogs, which makes it a very different place,” Hauswirth said. “You can come, have a drink or have lunch. I’ve come here as many times as I could.”

The Peekskill Brewery was the first craft beer company to open in northern Westchester. In the large room behind the bar, looming stainless steel brewery equipment, including brite tanks, fermenters and kettles, stood silent. Over the years the brewery has won several awards for their beer including at the national Great American Beer Festival, the New York State Craft Beer Competition and the Governor’s Cup for the best beer in New York State.

Medals and awards cover one wall next to the bar. During the pandemic the brewery was able to keep afloat by selling and distributing their beers locally and in New York City.

The Berardis have been Peekskill residents for years, and their strong sense of community became integral to the brewery. When they first opened, they connected with their neighbor, the shelter Caring for the Hungry and Homeless of Peekskill (CHHOP). The brewery hired people at CHHOP, and once a month provided dinner to the shelter’s residents.

Over the years they have hosted several popular events including outdoor live music concerts, street festivals, block parties and 5Ks, along with sponsoring running clubs, the Peekskill Mugs, a membership club that provided members discounted meals, drinks and invitations to special parties, and numerous dart leagues.

“This brewery has been a huge part of the community,” Berardi said. “My whole family has been involved. We are part of this community, we live here in Peekskill, my kids go to Peekskill schools. We will stay here to support the community. At this time, we just don’t know what our next steps will be.”