Lompoc Brewing Closes Hedge House Pub After 14 Years on SE Division

After 14 years, Lompoc Hedge House will pour its final microbrew on November 28, at 3412 SE Division St., according to a press release. Lompoc Brewing has been mixing malts and hops in Portland since 1996, and its other locations — Fifth Quadrant, Sidebar, Lompoc Tavern, and Oaks Bottom Public House — will all remain sudsing.

Lompoc Hedge House is the latest in a spate of Portland brewery and brewpub closings, including The Commons, Amnesia Brewing, and the Widmer Brothers brewpub (and after less than one year of business, Ross Island Brewing is up for sale).

In the farewell note to Hedge House, Lompoc owner Jerry Fechter says increased competition from restaurants, bars, and pubs on Southeast Division led to the closure.

“The competition is greater and frankly, business is slow,” writes Fechter. “We’ve seen decreasing sales for the last two years.“

In Portland brewing history, Lompoc Hedge House standouts as one of the beer bars co-founded by local beer legend, Don Younger. Younger played a pivotal roll in Portland’s development as a beer destination when he operated Horse Brass Pub.

And on New School Beer, Portland beer whisperer Ezra Johnson-Greenough writes, “Hedge House was perhaps Lompoc’s best property, a pub in a 1912 craftsman-style bungalow house complete with grassy front yard and front porch for drinking on nice days.”

Lompoc Hedge House is throwing a big party to share memories and beers on its last night. Here’s Fechter’s full statement on the closing:

We’d like to thank our staff, customers, friends, family, and vendors for your support over the last 14 years. We are so proud of our team, some of whom have worked here for nearly a dozen years, and it is truly heartbreaking to close.

Hedge House was Lompoc’s first satellite pub; Don Younger and I opened it in December 2003 with a goal of being the neighborhood watering hole that served local food and handcrafted beer. It became beloved for its patio, dog-friendly atmosphere, and Steelers games.

Division Street was way less developed back then, and over the last 14 years, significantly more restaurants, pubs, and beer bars have opened up. The competition is greater and frankly, business is slow; we’ve seen decreasing sales for the last two years. Our lease is up in the spring, and we decided to shut down now and focus on the brewery and the remaining pubs.

Please join me and our team now through Tuesday, Nov. 28 for a week of celebratory send off. We will tap our holiday beer lineup at Hedge House on Monday, Nov. 27.

Thank you for all the support offered to Hedge House and thank you for all of the continued support of the remaining Lompoc pubs: Fifth Quadrant, Sidebar, Oaks Bottom, and Lompoc Tavern. We hope you’ll stop by, raise a last pint with us, and send Hedge House off in style!

Love,

Jerry and the Hedge House Crew

• Lompoc Brewing [Official]
• Lompoc Hedge House is Closing [New School Beer]