Editor’s note: This story was updated at 1 p.m. to add comments from the Powell Nocterra location’s building owner and again at 4 p.m. to add a statement from Nocterra.
POWELL — It’s a sad day for craft beer lovers in Powell.
Nocterra Brewing Company abruptly announced the closure of its Powell and Columbus taprooms Sunday evening.
By Monday morning, a “for lease” sign was already posted on the building.
In a statement published to Nocterra’s Facebook and Instagram, owners Lori Duncan, Bryan Duncan and Bruce Vivian said: “It’s no secret that sectors of the hospitality industry have been struggling, and we are not immune. While rumors have spread, we will not validate any of the information circulating as of today.”
“One thing we want to make abundantly clear: there is no truth to any of the negative theories floating around about Wolf’s Ridge Brewing Company. They have been nothing but firm friends and industry peers,” the statement read further.
“Nocterra’s leadership is committed to finding a path forward. We plan to regroup, reorganize and reemerge as the best version of Nocterra to serve our customers and team members, focusing on our core: great beer and great people.”
Nocterra owners did not provide a further statement to Delaware Source.
Nocterra was one of two breweries in the city of Powell, with Ill Mannered Brewing Company still open.
Owners Lori Duncan, Bryan Duncan and Bruce Vivian opened Nocterra’s Powell location at 41 Depot St. in 2019.
The brewery expanded its footprint in 2024 to Columbus with a second restaurant and bar at the Scioto Audubon Metro Park at 516 Maier Place.
That second location Audubon faced road construction and closures that complicated access to the park in its first year of business, according to Columbus Business First.
In a statement published by Columbus Business First, Nocterra owners said:
“Heartbreak doesn’t begin to describe it. We understand the impact this has on all of you and we promise we exhausted every resource, connection, ability and dollar at our disposal to find a path allowing Nocterra to continue its current structure. Unfortunately we are out of runway to keep fighting.”
Building owner blindsided by closure
The building’s owner, Dan McClurg, said he had no prior notice about the closure.
“I never knew they were closing. I found out yesterday just like everyone else did,” McClurg told Delaware Source.
He said he is “frustrated and annoyed,” with how Nocterra handled the closing.
“The owners are good people, but the way they did it was not right,” he said.
He said he was not totally surprised by the closure, though, noting the business struggled after opening its second location in Columbus.
McClurg said his phone has been ringing all morning from callers already interested in taking over the lease.
He plans to lease the space to someone who will open a “good restaurant” or a “well-established brewery, not a start-up.”
Regardless of what business takes over the space, McClurg said he plans to be selective in who he chooses because there is no other location like it in Powell.
Powell residents confused, upset
Powell residents quickly took to social media Sunday evening to share memories of Nocterra and what the brewery meant to the community.
Heather Parks Mckinney wrote in the Powell Bubble Facebook group that the brewery had become a regular part of her family’s life.
“In a sea of strangers, the staff and regulars made us feel welcomed, loved and part of the family,” she wrote. “We’ve been coming here three to four times a week (and some weeks even more) ever since.”
Alissa Spivey Comella shared a similar sentiment, describing Nocterra as a gathering place for everything from weekly running club meetups to family milestones.
“Our CRC-Nocterra Running Club met there every Thursday since August 2020 in rain, shine or snow,” Comella said. “It was a place we stopped by to enjoy the fire pit on a chilly fall night, celebrate family milestones, take in a band or test our mettle in the incredible Quitter’s Run.”
A bigger challenge for downtown Powell
Powell Economic Development Administrator Sean Hughes said the closure tells a bigger story about downtown business activity.
“It can’t be a two-day week modeling, we have to start supplementing the business with more visitation, more destination business,” Hughes said.
“And that also takes working towards having a model here that is really drawing that foot traffic, and that requires us to be working with our building managers or property owners to be filling every building intentionally.”
The brewery received a $23,855 business retention and expansion grant from the Powell Development Corporation in 2025 to help fund a new delivery vehicle.
“Nocterra draws tens of thousands of visitors downtown each year, helping fuel foot traffic for shops and restaurants nearby. We’re proud to support businesses that invest in our community,” the city said in a Facebook post.
Hughes said the closure proves why the Village Green project is important, because it would add more square footage downtown to support businesses like Nocterra and others to encourage traffic downtown together.
“You can’t fit a certain type of business in an old house,” Hughes said.
This is a developing story.
