BELLEVILLE, Ill. — Belleville's 4204 Main Street Brewing Co. has closed its restaurant to focus on its distribution brewery and banquet hall operations, citing labor shortages.
The restaurant's last day in operation was Sunday, according to a Facebook post Monday night. Earlier this month, the restaurant, at 4204 W. Main St., had begun closing on Monday and Tuesday, offering dinner service Wednesdays through Fridays, and brunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday, according to its website. 4204 closed its restaurant early this past Sunday due to lack of staff, according to another Facebook post.
"In the end, a restaurant is about providing a quality dining experience. Great food and great service is key. Our core team is amazing. They have been with us through thick and thin," 4204 said in Monday's post. "However, 20 people can’t do the work of 100... which is what we need for the restaurant to be fully staffed."
The decision is a switch from July, when the brewpub, founded by CEO Todd Kennedy, said it had decided to shut down its beer distribution operations and "permanently close" its distribution brewery, while continuing to operate the restaurant and brewpub and host events at its banquet center. "We need to get back to our roots, and focus on what we can be as a craft brewery and restaurant," the company said in a July 14 posting.
However, 4204 said in Monday's post that its distribution brewery and banquet hall require "significantly less staff to operate."
This spring Kennedy told 5 On Your Side that the difficulty in finding staff was affecting scheduling at 4204 Main, saying he'd tried offering signing bonuses.
Read the full story on the St. Louis Business Journal website.
