Bay Shore craft brewery Destination Unknown Beer Company tapping out for good, owner says
Destination Unknown Beer Company in Bay Shore will be closing in coming weeks, owner Chris Candiano said Sunday, citing rising costs and changing consumption habits. Credit: Newsday/James Carbone
After more than a decade in business, Destination Unknown Beer Company, a Bay Shore craft brewery, is tapping out.
"In an all too familiar story these days, we find ourselves writing the words we never wanted to write. ... We are officially closing," owner Chris Candiano posted on Instagram on Sunday.
The taproom, known for its signature Dubco IPA and cocktail-inspired beers, is closing amid a nationwide contraction of craft breweries. Candiano cited rising costs and changing consumption habits as key challenges.
He opened the business in 2014 after getting into brewing in college, Candiano told Newsday.
"It was a hobby that got out of control," he said, adding that the business employed about 30 people at its height. In 2021, he expanded to a second location in Warwick in the lower Hudson Valley, but that already closed around Thanksgiving.
New York has more than 500 independent craft breweries that support 22,000 jobs across the state, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul's office. But nationwide, brewery closings outpaced openings in 2025 for the second year in a row, according to the Brewers Association, a trade group.
Another local craft brewery, Long Ireland in Riverhead, announced it is closing earlier this month. There, the owner cited a societywide decline in alcohol consumption and rising costs of ingredients.
Candiano said he thinks craft breweries can still be successful — they just need to branch out.
"People are looking for basically a restaurant that makes its own beer. That's where the industry is headed," he said.
The business, just off Saxon Avenue, is on the market for $699,000.
Candiano said it will remain open for several weeks as they tap into special beers and remaining inventory.
He raised a glass to his dedicated customers and staff in his announcement.
"To every single person who walked through our doors, shared a beer, celebrated a milestone, worked a shift, or believed in us, thank you," he wrote on Instagram. "You gave this place its soul."
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