Land-Grant Brewing is in the final stages of buying Nocterra Brewing and plans to open in Nocterra’s former flagship space at 41 Depot St. in Powell, Ohio. Columbus Business First broke the news Oct. 28, and the deal hadn’t closed as of Oct. 29. The Franklinton brewery has already applied for a liquor license at the address, Columbus Underground reports, citing public records.
That would bring the lights back on at a building that went dark at the end of August. Nocterra abruptly closed both its Powell brewery and its Scioto Audubon Metro Park taproom, leaving central Ohio’s beer map one notable dot short. Earthlings in Delaware County, this one’s for you.
Land-Grant Brewing and Nocterra: what we know
Business First’s story is paywalled, so here is what the open write-ups say. Food writer Breakfast With Nick summarized it this way: Business First reported that Land-Grant “is in the final stages of purchasing Nocterra Brewing in Powell and will open a brewery there.” Business First’s own headline says Land-Grant will “buy Nocterra Brewing, open in flagship Powell space.”
Columbus Underground found the paper trail. According to public records, Land-Grant applied this month for a liquor license at 41 Depot St. That’s the address where Nocterra opened in 2019.
What’s not known yet is just as important. Columbus Underground says Land-Grant hasn’t announced what the license will lead to, or whether Nocterra will be involved. The publication also says details about what the Powell Land-Grant will look like haven’t been released. No price, closing date or opening date has been made public.
Land-Grant Brewing’s first stand-alone spot outside Franklinton
If it opens, Powell would be Land-Grant’s first stand-alone location outside Franklinton, Columbus Underground reports. Friends Adam Benner and Walt Keys founded the brewery. The college roommates started homebrewing in 2010 as Oval Brewing, switched the name to Land-Grant in 2012 and opened their first taproom in 2014 at 424 W. Town St., in an old elevator factory.
Land-Grant has grown in steps since then. It opened a taproom inside John Glenn Columbus International Airport in 2016 and added the Beer Garden, a space for live music and yard games, to its Franklinton property in 2018. In 2021 it added a winterized version called the Winter Garden, with igloos and ice games. Columbus Underground says the Franklinton location will remain open.
Why Nocterra closed
Nocterra’s owners, Lori Duncan, Bryan Duncan and Bruce Vivian, closed the Powell taproom and the Columbus location on Sunday evening, Aug. 30, Delaware Source reported. By the next morning, a “for lease” sign was on the building.
“Heartbreak doesn’t begin to describe it,” the owners said in a statement published by Business First and quoted by Delaware Source. “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.”
In a separate social media statement, the owners said “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.” That statement also denied “negative theories” circulating about Wolf’s Ridge Brewing Company, calling it a firm friend and industry peer.
The Columbus location, a restaurant and bar at Scioto Audubon Metro Park that opened in 2024, faced road construction that complicated access to the park in its first year, Delaware Source reported, citing Business First.
Nocterra hinted at a comeback
Nocterra never sounded entirely gone. In late September, it applied to renew its liquor license at the Powell location, according to Columbus Underground. Records showed no renewal application for the second location. Earlier this month, the Nocterra website changed to say “Something’s Brewing, Stay Tuned,” and later to “Embark on a new adventure with us.” Columbus Underground says the site lists Nocterra’s beers but no place to buy them.
The Powell building’s owner, Dan McClurg, told Delaware Source in August that he wanted to lease it to someone who would open a “good restaurant” or a “well-established brewery, not a start-up.” A brewery that has been pouring in Franklinton since 2014 would seem to fit that description.
What this means for Powell
Nocterra was one of two breweries in the city of Powell, along with Ill Mannered Brewing Company, according to Delaware Source. The city said in a Facebook post at the time that Nocterra “draws tens of thousands of visitors downtown each year.” Powell Economic Development Administrator Sean Hughes told Delaware Source the closure showed the need for more destination business downtown.
It’s also part of a busy season of change for Columbus-area beer. Just this week, we reported on the Endeavor Brewing taproom closing in Grandview. Brewery deals are making news well beyond Ohio, too, like Hardywood acquiring Starr Hill in Virginia.
FAQ
A new tenant for 41 Depot St.
Land-Grant Brewing, a Franklinton fixture since 2014, is in the final stages of buying Nocterra and has applied for a liquor license at 41 Depot St. in Powell. Nocterra closed that taproom and its Scioto Audubon location on Aug. 30, then teased that “Something’s Brewing” on its website.
The deal hasn’t closed, and Land-Grant Brewing hasn’t announced an opening date, menu or tap list yet. Whether the Nocterra name survives in any form is also unknown. When Land-Grant makes it official, we’ll beam the details down.
Transmission complete.
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