San Luis Obispo’s Bang the Drum Brewery is fighting to stay open after being ordered to vacate within 30 days over fire safety concerns.
The City of San Luis Obispo ordered property owner Laurel Creek LP to vacate several units– including Bang the Drum– citing a faulty fire suppression system and structurally compromised walls.
Noelle Dubois, the brewery’s owner, said she was unaware of these issues until receiving the notice. In a letter to the city, she asked for help to stay open until July to avoid financial ruin.
“That is the shortest amount of time that would cover all of the events, the private events and all the obligations we have immediately,” Dubois said.
Despite the city’s 30-day deadline, Dubois said the brewery will stay open for 60 days, even if it means paying required fines of up to $1,000 per day.
City officials said they are looking into how to potentially help the tenants, but it’s up to the property owner to complete permits that require fire safety work on the buildings.
Fire Chief Todd Tuggle said the owner failed to follow through.
“The property owner did not communicate anything to the tenants, and then further had no– or had very little– work or productivity towards completion of the building permits that had been issued previously,” Tuggle said.
The city said it is working with the property owners to bring the buildings up to safety standards.
