BALTIMORE — Community helping community, it's what The Brass Tap Baltimore is doing for former employees of The Brewer's Art.
Barry Lowenthal, General Manager and Owner of The Brass Tap Baltimore, confirmed to WMAR-2 News Monday that a fundraiser is currently running to benefit employees who are in need since The Brewer's Art closed down.
Lowenthal says that 10% of all sales on Monday, February 9, will go to those employees.
"As part of a small, tight-knit community, many of our staff members have personal connections with those who worked there, and we were all surprised by the sudden closure," Lowenthal said.
The news of the brewery/restaurant's closure came by form of a letter posted to the door.
It stated that its doors would close permanently, and offered thanks for the support after decades of serving the community.
The closure caught many in the community off guard, from longtime customers to those who had planned to visit.
"New to Baltimore. Was literally thinking yesterday I needed to make time to go there after it was recommended by multiple people. So bummed I missed out," one person said on WMAR-2 News' Facebook post on the closure.
"I spent a lot of time there in college. Wish I had gotten back there more recently before it closed," another Facebook comment said.
While a reason for the closure was not confirmed, WMAR-2 News learned that the Comptroller's Office placed an $85,000 lien against the Brewer's Art on December 12, 2025.
Lowenthal did not give further comment on the closure, but stated that "the restaurant/bar industry is a challenging business, and the impacts in the economy are making this difficult for all of us."
"I certainly did not think of the Brewer's Art, with their 30 years in business, as a candidate for closure, and am as surprised as anyone," Lowenthal said. "We're happy to help the former employees in any way that we can."
