For those without social media, or perhaps those who do not pay attention to traditional media, the news that Bosque Brewing has closed both of their Santa Fe locations may have slipped past Tuesday.

The Drinkery, on Santa Fe’s south side, and the Restoration Pizza at the Railyard are no more, both shutting down immediately.

“Since we began our restructuring process in October, our focus has been on building a stronger and more sustainable future for Bosque Brewing Co.,” the brewery wrote in a social media post. “As part of that process, we’ve had to make some incredibly difficult decisions.”

Despite earlier claims to the contrary, the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process was always going to claim a few casualties among the many Bosque taprooms across the state. By all accounts from the folks we know in Santa Fe, neither spot ever gained much traction with the locals (Restoration at least seemed to stand a fighting chance with all the tourists visiting the Railyard).

Other Albuquerque area breweries have tried to break into the market in the state capital and found a similar lack of success. In other words, this was not a shocking turn of events. Throw in the fact that the landlord of the Restoration Pizza location was attempting to evict them in state court before the federal bankruptcy filing took place, and it almost seemed inevitable that Bosque was not long for Santa Fe.

The big question now, one that plenty of folks have asked us, is what comes next. We will be honest, we have no idea.

The consensus view, from those inside and outside the brewing industry, seems to be that there is no way that Bosque can dig themselves out of this much debt. Bosque, we are fairly certain, will dispute that. They will make more statements about how the restructuring/reorganization will take time. The brand is strong, they will say, and they will be doubling down on their more successful locations. Besides, they will add, Chapter 11 takes time. Be patient and let the process take its due course.

Public perception, however, is something that they cannot control, and will find incredibly difficult to spin back in their favor. If people — and we are not talking about the die-hard fans but the more casual customer that makes up a majority of the base of all breweries — believe a place is doomed, they rarely rally to show extra support. Instead, they head elsewhere to grab a brew and a bite to eat.

People, though, can surprise us. Perhaps they will rally around Bosque and the brewery’s remaining owners can work it all out in bankruptcy court. Maybe a scaled-back Bosque will return to its roots and find success again.

As the headline above states, it is all into the great unknown from here. All we can do is hold out hope that another struggling local business survives, that its employees remain employed, and that there is a light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel.

To the Santa Fe employees who lost their jobs so close to the holidays, we can only hope that you land on your feet sooner than later.

Here is hoping some happy news crosses our desk this winter. But, like the music we prefer, it is likely that only darkness and doom awaits.

— Stoutmeister