Side By Each Brewing Co. in Auburn has announced that Dec. 31 will be its last day in business, citing financial challenges since the pandemic.

The Minot Avenue brewery’s Dec. 11 social media post thanked staff and customers for service and support during its six years in operation.

“We want to express our deepest appreciation to the amazing staff here, past and present, who have dealt with the ups and downs of a small business in trying times more gracefully than we could have asked,” the post reads in part. “And to our customers, whether occasional or regular, whether you’ve been coming in since 2019 or made your first visit last week, we also extend our heartfelt thanks.”

“We’ve been playing from behind ever since COVID,” Side By Each owner Ben Low said Tuesday, noting that the pandemic hit one year after the brewery launched, just when they were starting to break even as a business. At the same time, Side By Each didn’t qualify for most federal emergency aid because they hadn’t been open long enough.

“Our whole business model from the beginning was based on bringing people into the brewery,” Low said. “We weren’t doing any packaging initially, so (the pandemic) obviously made things very tough.”

Low also noted factors like the downturn in brewery business in general over the past few years and how people are going out less often than they did pre-pandemic. He said the 2023 Lewiston mass shootings have had an inhibiting effect on customers in their area, particularly bar patrons. And like many other venues, Side By Each has had a hard time finding and paying for good staff since 2020.

“You put all those things together, and it was just time (to close),” Low said.

The brewery’s Instagram post explains that Side By Each will be open for its regular hours until the end of the month, and all scheduled events will go on as planned.

The post also urged anyone interested in buying the business to reach out. “We would love to see what we’ve built here continue in some form, and for the right buyer it could be a great opportunity,” the post states.