Riverbend Brewery & Sports Pub set to close

The Riverbend Brewery & Sports Pub on Northeast Division Street in Bend is set to close on Monday, Nov. 19.

Michael Brady, the lead brewer, told NewsChannel 21 on Monday the owner wants to take some time off and has some family health issues he wants to focus on.

Brady said although the pub is doing well, it barely sells any of its brand of beer. It primarily sells in the Portland and Seattle markets.

With the pub closing, the focus of the brew staff will now be on bottling, canning — and possibly a new adventure.

“One thing we’re going to be focusing on with the owner himself is to start a new taproom,” Brady said, and to “start a new, maybe brewpub. It’s not going to be the death of Riverbend Brew Pub — we have a new generation coming.”

The space next door to the brewing site is being considered for the taproom and possibly some food carts outside.

The employees of the pub were given a few days’ notice of the closure. Renovations of the building are set to begin soon for the owner to lease out to a new tenant, a marijuana dispensary.