7th Settlement Brewery hints at future plans

DOVER – One of the owners of the 7th Settlement Brewery, which has been closed for months, said on Wednesday that the business was “about to make an announcement” about its future.

David Boynton wouldn’t say what the announcement would imply other than to say there’s an acquisition going on. He said he wanted it to be finalized before commenting further. “It has been a long and difficult process,” he said.

Boynton declined to comment on whether the company had been evicted from its location at 47 Washington Street, which is inside Cocheco Mills, owned by Chinburg Properties. Boynton would just say, “We’re working with the owner. It’s part of the process. Attempts to reach a representative of Chinburg Properties were unsuccessful.

A sign on the door, hung for months, says “the restaurant side is temporarily closed,” although it notes that its beer-making operations have continued. Inside the main company gate, a 7th Colony poster is still hanging, as is a brewery t-shirt. The 7th Settlement food truck remains parked in the parking lot of the mill. Boynton said in an interview on Wednesday that as of August, the company stopped brewing and wholesaling beer.

Boynton and co-owner Joshua Henry opened the brewery restaurant in 2013. Last May, Boynton told Foster’s that 90% of its workforce was laid off, which also coincided with reduced hours. At the beginning of July, the restaurant was closed.

In May, Boynton told Foster’s, “We started undercapitalized. We made some mistakes with some spending and our growth, ”he said. “It’s our debt and a couple of things that happened.”

He pointed out that the company’s financial problems were unrelated to the company’s decision last year to eliminate tips and pay waiters a higher salary.