Less than three years after opening in downtown Colorado Springs, Curtis and Cody Bell are ringing the final knell on their craft beer and small bites startup, Bell Brothers Brewing. The brewery announced this week that its last day of operation at 114 N. Tejon St. will be Sept. 29.

“We probably could have squeezed our way through to our three-year anniversary” at the end of December, said Curtis’ wife and brewery co-owner Liz Bell, “but it was more important to give my staff time to find new work and my patrons time to say goodbye.

“I didn’t want it to be what I think of as an all-of-a-sudden, ‘catastrophic’ closing.”

That doesn’t mean the news isn’t catastrophic, and really depressing.

Patron Shannon Crowder was enjoying her two favorite things about Bell Brothers — “amazing” craft beer cocktails, served by staff who treat her like part of the family — through a bittersweet lens Thursday afternoon.

“I don’t know anywhere else that does beer cocktails like this, and they make them with all-Colorado ingredients,” said Crowder, sipping on an aforementioned creation while bartender Jo Swain filled a crowler with to-go suds. “This is just really sad … and great, now we’re all going to cry.”

Homebrewers who’d earned names for their mobile kegerator (“The Party Cube”) and online video reviews both legit and cheeky (“How to Survive a Sasquatch Attack”), the Bell brothers originally hoped to evolve their concept to brick and mortar in Fountain, as early as 2020. They’d even identified a location off Camden Boulevard and set an aspirational opening date before the pandemic scuttled plans and forced a pivot.

The sale and redevelopment of a massive property on North Tejon opened up new opportunities downtown. The brothers moved into a shotgun-style, glass-fronted spot in a storefront unit, setting up a brewery, taproom and small kitchen and opening on New Year’s Eve, 2021.

Being compelled to close, three months shy of their third anniversary, “definitely” wasn’t part of the plan, Liz Bell said.

“It really comes down to one word, and that’s finances,” said Bell.

Post-pandemic shockwaves proved unsurvivable for many businesses that made it through the initial shut-downs and strangeness, with the brewing industry experiencing a “significant downturn” after June 2023, Bell said.

“Talk to anyone, in confidence, in the community and they’ll tell you that they’re struggling,” she said. “And we were already struggling, and it’s late summer. This is when you’re supposed to be flush with cash, and I’m already feeling winter squeeze?”

With traditional seasonal downturns dead ahead, including a “Dry January” that, for an increasing number of Americans, doesn’t start or stop there, the writing was on the wall.

“You’ve got to make the decisions that make the most sense, for you and your staff and your patrons,” Bell said.

Bell Brothers is making the most of the time that’s left. The annual, three-day celebration of Oktoberfest, featuring a themed menu including house-made beer brats and a “special” rum barrel-aged doppelbock, kicks off Sept. 20.

Typically released in late December, the brewery’s anniversary barrel-aged barleywine will be tapped early so fans can close the loop on that tradition.

Bell said Friday that when patrons tell her they’re sorry about the closure, she accepts their condolences and offers advice on behalf of those who remain.

“We’re closing, but please go support somebody else,” she said. “I know finances are tight everywhere, but if everybody just walked in and spent $5 once a month at some local, mom and pop place they love … that makes a difference.”

Bell Brothers will join a short but consequential list of Colorado Springs breweries that have closed over the last few years, including Rocky Mountain Brewery, Battle Mountain and Smiling Toad, whose former Old Colorado City address is now home to South Park Brewing Co.