Patrons sit at tables and walk around the outdoor space at Crux Fermentation Project on Saturday in Bend. 

Crux Fermentation Project has put its home on SW Division Street up for sale and plans to lease the property from new owners.

The goal is to infuse the 12-year-old brewery with cash as the 1.5-acre site has increased in value since the founders purchased it in 2016, said Paul Evers, one of the brewery founders.

“We see it as more of a non-news event, with the way we’ve structured this our customers won’t notice a difference,” Evers said. “By being proactive in announcing the listing, we’re wanting to ensure people don’t come to the wrong conclusion.”

The property and the building —a former AAMCO transmission shop — on SW Division Street is listed for sale at $5.5 million by Compass Commercial Real Estate Services. A few years after opening, Crux expanded the building, adding indoor seating and a new bar. The grassy area of the property is a favorite outdoor hangout with fire pits, picnic benches and several food carts.

The brewery also owns a 40,000-square-foot brewing facility in northeast Bend and will continue to operate its Portland Pub in an old dairy building south of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

Last year Crux produced 18,227 barrels of beer.

Cash flow critical

In the ever-changing marketplace of craft brewing, having access to cash is key to adapting, said Ben Edmunds, Oregon Brewers Guild president. Unlike other alcoholic beverage makers whose product sits for months or years in inventory, brewers have a six-week turnaround before they have to start making more beer, Edmunds said.

“Cash flow is incredibly important right now, especially in a business that is raw material intensive,” Edmunds said. “Breweries are creative in how they structure their business. You try to get beer fresh, so the batch sizes are oriented around that and you need a constant replenishment of cash.”

Businesses always need access to ready cash to fuel expansion, said Katy Brooks, Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO.

Crux in Portland

Crux Fermentation Project expands to Portland 

“Finding capital to expand is difficult for businesses right now. Commercial lenders are being very cautious and interest rates can be prohibitive,” Brooks said. “It’s not unusual for businesses to leverage property for growth capital and it may mean a different model for them moving forward.”

Crux at center of new developments

When Crux first located to its current site, it was off the beaten path, said Larry Sidor, one of Crux Fermentation Project’s founders. Today it is smack dab in the middle of a building boom of new homes.

A few blocks away, the mixed-use Jackstraw project developed by Killian Pacific is under construction and when complete will provide more than 300 housing units. An even larger project sitting on 32 acres, known as the Timber Yards, is also in the area and is planned to have 1,600 housing units.

“It’s about right-sizing,” Sidor said. “We find ourselves with a lot of capital caught up in real estate. We were the early adopters of this area. We have to evaluate where we’re going to go.”

Crux

Crux executive stepping down 

While both Evers and Sidor are the founders and majority owners, they have stepped down from the day to day of the business. If the new land owner won’t lease back the property, Crux would consider relocating to another site, but hasn’t made any decision yet.