Bissell Brothers will close its Three Rivers location in the Piscataquis County town of Milo at the end of the summer.
The Portland-based beer brewers opened their second location at 157 Elm St. in 2018 with plans to concentrate on more experimental beers that take longer to brew and to bring the business back to their hometown.
Milo has a population of about 2,200 and lies 30 miles north of Bangor at the junction of the Sebec and the Piscataquis rivers. A third river — the Pleasant River — accounts for the “town of three rivers” nickname adopted by the brewery.
In a letter on the company’s website, owners Noah, Peter and Hester Bissell described how the expansion “simply felt right” but was undertaken “knowing full well that it would be a huge undertaking and uphill battle” that would have to be subsidized with income from the company’s flagship store in Portland.
“While we were able to absorb this loss for the better part of the last decade, a variety of economic factors both internal and external to our business have regrettably made this impossible to continue,” they said, noting later that “expenses in literally all categories — payroll, cost of goods, transportation, maintenance, and utilities — have ballooned at a staggering rate.”
The Bissells said they plan to leave the building as it is in hopes that someone will take over “what’s in essence a turnkey brewery and restaurant.”
