Third Level Brewing Faces Bankruptcy

0:00It's April 4th. This is Durham News Today, Local News Powered by AI. Craft beer has been in a rough slump for the last three years, with hundreds of breweries shutting down. In 2023, 385 spots closed their doors, and last year through mid-December, 2025, 400. 34 went under, while only 268 opened. Now, a young Texas spot called Third Level Brewing just filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in early April. This round rock brewery kicked off in June 2023, right as the downturn kicked in hard. Owners blamed dropping sales in skyrocketing costs, and Third Levels no exception. They opened amid all that headwind from comic and video game fans, aiming for a nerd culture hangout. Owner Clint Bradley's keeping things running normal until the court says stop after their bank tried to foreclose. Bankruptcy put that on hold. They ran a GoFundMe last year, pulled in over $13,000, but Bradley refunded it all once

1:02bankruptcy loomed, figuring closure was. Coming. No final shutdown day yet though, Bradley mentions possible investors waiting on the bankruptcy wrap up to maybe keep pouring their 12 house. Beers from 10% stouts to lighter ails. A few others like spots in San Francisco and Baltimore bit the dust recently too. Hits home, how even fresh ideas struggle in this brew biz storm. But Third Levels fighting to the buzzer, while the industry is still shaking out.