Why Kannah Creek's Brewhouse Couldn't Find a Buyer

"It was a real Budweiser/Coors Light town." That is how Jim Jeffryes remembered Grand Junction in October 2005, when he and his wife Bernadette opened Kannah Creek Brewing Company at 1960 N. 12th St. In a long interview with The Business Times, he said it was "a little scary." Bernadette said craft beer "wasn't big in this town yet."

Twenty-one years later, the brewpub is closing. Its last day is Oct. 24, the same date it opened in 2005. Grand Junction has plenty of beer now. The harder thing to find was someone who wanted to take on the brewing, the part that made Kannah Creek matter.

Oct. 24, Twice

The Jeffryeses could have closed sooner. They chose to wait for the anniversary, so the brewery opens and closes on the same date.

KKCO 11 News reported that a live band plays the final day from 3 p.m. until the 10 p.m. close. Until then, the brewery is running food specials with $5 pints of Creek Beer and $5 wells and wines. The Business Times added that all the beer has to go, by the pint or the growler.

Bernadette told KKCO the community had accepted them. "We think we've been a good citizen of the community and made some good contributions, and we'll miss that," she said. The brewery's own website describes years of annual nonprofit fundraisers and community partnerships.

What Buyers Wanted, and What They Passed On

Retirement explains why the owners are leaving. It doesn't explain why nobody took over. The Business Times account does. Bernadette said they had tried to sell for a couple of years but "just haven't found the right person to take it over."

The interest they did get came with a condition. "We had some people interested in the restaurant, they just weren't interested in the brewery side of it," Bernadette said. Jim described brewing as a special thing that people unfamiliar with it are "often afraid of."

Three other things worked against a sale, all from the same interview:

• The building is leased. The Jeffryeses don't own it, so there was no building or land to package with the business.
• The recent books. Jim said, "We're just now, this year, getting back in the black after COVID." He noted that buyers ask for five years of financials. A run of losses or breakeven years is hard to put in front of someone hoping for big profits.
• Industry margins. Even in good years, Jim said, "if you're doing 5 percent, you're about industry standard" for a restaurant or brewpub.

Bernadette also mentioned the economy, inflation, and studies showing people drink less alcohol overall. Jim added that "restaurants are just a tough business."

So the part buyers shied away from was the part the owners called the best business. Bernadette told The Business Times:

"You do have a good profit margin on the beer, so it's a good part of the business."

Buyers wanted the kitchen, which carries the thin margins. They passed on the brewhouse, which the owners said earns the good ones.

The Sale That Did Go Through

There is a second Jeffryes property, and it shows what happens when brewing lands with the right buyer.

In 2013, with Kannah Creek doing well, the couple opened Edgewater Brewery at 905 Struthers Ave. near Las Colonias Park and the Riverfront Trail. They sold it in early 2025. The Business Times reported in March 2025 that a group led by Adam Kinsey, co-owner and operator of Handlebar Tap House, closed on the purchase Feb. 27. The group planned to put production brewing equipment back in the building.

The building now houses WestCo Brewing, still at 905 Struthers Ave. WestCo's own site describes itself as a brewery with a head brewer who is also a co-founder. In September 2026, KJCT reported WestCo beer being poured at a local coffee-and-beer house.

The two sales differ in who was buying. Edgewater went to people who already ran a taproom, and they wanted the brewing back. At Kannah Creek, the buyers who looked wanted to run a restaurant. A brewhouse is specialized equipment, and it carries the most value for someone who already knows how to use it.

From Two Brewpubs to a Full Tap List

The Jeffryeses opened into a nearly empty field. When The Business Times asked whether The Rockslide Brew Pub was around in 2005, Jim answered, "Yeah, and that's it." Bernadette added that Palisade Brewing existed too, but without its restaurant yet. Jim had worked at Palisade Brewing before he went out on his own, and he said he "just knew I wanted to open my own place."

The Jeffryeses' account of the two decades since runs in this order:

1. 2005: Kannah Creek opens on N. 12th St. in what Jim calls a Budweiser/Coors Light town.
2. The next couple of years: Bernadette said it "took a little time, a couple years to take off," before it "did really well."
3. 2013: Business is strong enough to open Edgewater on Struthers Ave.
4. Early 2025: Edgewater sells and becomes WestCo Brewing.
5. 2026: Kannah Creek is back in the black after COVID. No buyer steps in, and the owners set the anniversary as the last day.

Jim's summary of where things stand now is that there's "plenty of competition these days in the Grand Valley." That competition is easy to see on a Grand Junction map. Breweries and taprooms operating in the city as of fall 2026 include:

• The Rockslide Brew Pub, 401 Main St., the downtown brewpub Jim named as his only peer in 2005, still serving house microbrews.
• Trail Life Brewing, 436 Main St., which KJCT profiled in July 2026 when it had been open less than four years.
• Ramblebine Brewing Company, whose downtown taproom is at 457 Colorado Ave.
• Gemini Beer Company, 310 N. 7th St., Unit 5, a brewery a few blocks off Main that bills itself as "Grand Junction's Favorite Tap Room."
• Base Camp Beer Works, 2575 Highway 6 & 50, whose co-owner talked through its seasonal taps in a September 2026 KJCT segment.
• WestCo Brewing, 905 Struthers Ave., in the former Edgewater building near Las Colonias.

That list covers places currently operating and doesn't claim to be every taproom in town. Even so, it is a long way from a downtown brewpub, one brewery up the road in Palisade, and a new place on 12th Street.

What Comes Next on 12th Street

Two questions don't have answers yet. Nothing has been announced about what will go into 1960 N. 12th St. Bernadette told KKCO, "it's closing but there's still some possibilities depending on what happens with the property." The owners haven't said whether Creek Beer will continue under the name in any form either. The closing specials are the only Creek Beer on offer so far.

The owners' own plans are clearer. Bernadette told KKCO they're looking forward to traveling and visiting baseball stadiums around the country. Jim told The Business Times what he'll do the morning after the last pour on Oct. 25: "We're gonna sleep in on that day."

The most specialized part of a property is often the hardest to price and the hardest to sell. That's as true of an arena, a set of corrals, or irrigation shares as it is of a brewhouse. At Sorrel Properties, we help Western Colorado owners explain what those working parts are worth to buyers who know how to use them. If you're planning a sale like that, let's connect.