Pelham used to be the go-to place for a beer and a concert in central Alabama.
Fans could watch Hootie & the Blowfish at Oak Mountain Amphitheater and down a draft pint in the tap room at nearby Oak Mountain Brewing Company on Cahaba Valley Road.
Both those options are now closed.
On its official Facebook page, Oak Mountain Brewing posted a closure notice on Feb. 7 with little explanation.
“Due to unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, OMBC is currently closed for the foreseeable future,” it said. “We will update everyone as soon as possible if we are able to reopen.”
Management did not immediately respond to a request for further comment or explanation about when or if they will reopen, or whether the closure was related to legal problems involving back taxes owed.
Shelby County, Pelham and the Alabama Department of Revenue have since 2023 pursued court action against Oak Mountain Brewing Company LLC for non-payment of sales taxes.
Shelby County won a judgment of $8,581.84 in 2023 against the brewer. The state revenue department then filed a certificate of lien for taxes owed. On Feb. 20, 2024, the state filed a lien saying the brewery owed $5,450.36 in taxes.
On July 12, 2024, the City of Pelham was awarded a judgment of $102,297.15 against Oak Mountain Brewing.
At least for now, the brewery closing is another apparent blow to commerce in Pelham, which has seen the recent closure of Oak Mountain Amphitheatre by its owner Live Nation, which plans to permanently shutter that facility. Live Nation now plans to book its concerts for the Birmingham area at the new Coca-Cola Amphitheater in downtown Birmingham, which is under construction and will open in June.
According to its website, Oak Mountain Brewing was founded by Peter Genereux in 2019.
“Thinking the Pelham and Oak Mountain area was a good, central and easy to get to location that would be a perfect place for a brewery, Peter left his job with a statewide beer and wine distributor and began to look for locations,” the web site says. “Everything finally fell into place in August of 2019, when he found a building for lease at the busy corner of highway 31 and 119, with neighbors such as Oak Mountain State Park, the Oak Mountain Amphitheater and Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena.”