REGION — After eight years of serving craft beer in North County, Black Plague Brewing permanently closed its Oceanside and Escondido locations over the weekend.
The brewery, known for its Gothic-inspired branding, opened in 2016 in Oceanside under the leadership of retired professional skateboarder Jordan Hoffart, marketer Jarred Doss, and other partners. Despite being tucked away inland, the brewery quickly became a regional hit.
In 2022, Black Plague launched the Purgatory Lounge, a 2,400-square-foot taproom with a kitchen and 1,400-square-foot backyard in downtown Escondido. The venue partnered with Full Metal Burgers for food service until the collaboration ended last year.
Following the lounge’s success, Hoffart and Doss opened a third location, Dearly Departed, in North Park at University Avenue and 29th Street.
According to San Diego Beer News, the brewery hoped its proximity to The Observatory music venue would drive foot traffic, but the bar struggled to capture an audience and closed earlier this spring.
Black Plague officially shuttered its Oceanside and Escondido sites on Sept. 28.
Over the years, the company collected awards at the San Diego International Beer Competition, California State Fair, Brewers Cup of California and U.S. Open Beer Championships.
Nick Mora, a bartender at Purgatory Lounge for over two years, said management sent staff a heartfelt message about the closure and allowed them to ask questions.
For Mora, the staff was the highlight of his time there.
“Shout out to the Escondido staff for always making it feel like home,” he said.
Serving guests was a close second. Mora said he met “great people” while working, sharing laughs and conversations, and added that employees wished they could have said goodbye to everyone.
Mora, who began his beer industry career at Pizza Port in 2016, reflected on the changing landscape.
“That was like the golden years of beer in San Diego,” he said.
He noted that fewer people drink craft beer today compared with nearly a decade ago. For now, Mora said he is weighing his options but feels fortunate to have strong connections in the local craft beer community.
