K2 Brothers Brewing closes Wayne County school location immediately

Brewery, which started in late 2017, opened a production space/tasting room at former Freewill Elementary School in late 2023

One of the region’s most ambitious (and unusual) breweries will close its secondary location and primary production facility immediately, the brewery announced in an email to mug club members late Sunday night.

K2 Brothers Brewing, which opened its Penfield location in late 2017, plans to immediately cease operations at its newer facility at 4320 Canandaigua Road in Walworth, Wayne County. Brewery owners confirmed the news via text message Monday morning.

The Kennedy brothers, Kyle and Brad, originally opened at a former antique shop at 1221 Empire Blvd. overlooking Irondequoit Bay. The original spot, which they said will remain open, features a 7-barrel brewhouse and arguably the best beer garden in the region.

The Kennedys purchased the 70,390-square-foot building in May 2023 for $1.45 million, according to Wayne County property records. They also reached a payment in lieu of taxes agreement (PILOT) with the Wayne County Industrial Development Agency, public records indicate. K2 spent untold millions more to refurbish roughly 30 percent of the massive building. In total, the property consists of 41.69 acres. K2 added a locally manufactured 20-barrel four vessel brewing system (with a catwalk connecting the system to the army of 60-barrel fermenters). The new brewery occupied one of the school’s former gymnasiums, while the tasting room and gaming area were in the old cafeteria. The school kitchen became the hub for restaurant operations.

Photo: This 2023 photo shows the exterior of the former Freewill Elementary School in Walworth, Wayne County. It became the second location and primary production facility for K2 Brothers Brewing.

In the email to mug club members, K2 owners stated, “This is not a message any of us ever would have expected or wanted to send. This decision is not one that was made hastily and sadly the decision was ultimately forced by the bank due to rising ingredient & material costs, lower than expected sales, and a series of unexpected and unfortunate events. We hope that you can look at K2 and be happy that it happened and not sad that it is no longer.” They did not offer any specifics for the immediate closure or reveal why it needed to happen immediately. Just last week, the brewery was posting on social media about welcoming patrons in to watch college basketball.

Instead, they wrote that there is a “silver lining to a difficult and heartbreaking situation” in that “the bank is allowing the Empire Blvd location to remain open.” K2 officials stated, “…we are not giving up and will still be able to give you all the services and benefits of your mug club membership at our Empire location.”

Owners declined to offer any other context or any other questions.

A quick scan of public court records shows the brewery is involved in at least two ongoing lawsuits in state Supreme Court. (One is in Wayne County, the other is in Monroe County.) One was brought by Palmer Food Services and seeks nearly $69,000 in unpaid goods and services, records show. That case was settled on March 14. K2 was ordered to pay $42,734.24.

While the other lawsuit filed by Yellowstone Builders 2 (doing business as SERVPRO of Central Monroe County) alleges K2 breached a contract for completed cleaning and restoration services and refused to pay the vendor $299,968.15 (plus interest), according to publicly available records. Ultimately, the plaintiff filed a notice of discontinuance and moved to drop the case on Feb. 28.

Additionally, on Feb. 18, the brewery’s original Empire Boulevard location was served with a state tax warrant in the amount of $115,162.72, according to a state database.

Photo: Brad and Kyle Kennedy sit inside the future tasting room at their under-construction brewery in Walworth in May 2023.

Initially, K2 utilized about a third of the total space, including remaking the larger of the school’s two gymnasiums into a 20-barrel four vessel brewing facility and the cafeteria into a tasting room/bar. The school closed about six years ago and was vacant before the sale. The sale required approval of the Wayne Central School District.

When discussing their vision, the Kennedys offered grandiose plans.

“We envision this place being a mix of Dave and Buster’s, Lasertron, and Radio Social, and all under one roof,” Brad told me in May 2023.

As I wrote in December 2023:

The future could include a bowling alley, Airbnb-style lodging accommodations, and classroom-based private event spaces. And that’s before you even factor in the second gymnasium that could be used for indoor cornhole leagues (a big part of K2’s current outdoor beer garden in Penfield) or other adult-themed games. Who knows, K2 could partner with other businesses to turn part of the Freewill property into a retail destination.

Along with the construction of the new spot, K2 also purchased the Young Lion Brewing brand and recipes. It then produced legacy Young Lion beers at the new facility. This came after Young Lion closed its Canandaigua brewery and sold the equipment and space to Other Half Brewing. Previously, K2 partnered with Young Lion to produce some of its beers in a contract agreement. K2 built its brand on its spectacular outdoor space that could be enjoyed year-round after the Kennedys purchased a huge tent to enclose the area during the colder months. It also garnered a following for its fruited sours and hazy IPAs.

When I first encountered the brothers in 2017 (while still at the Democrat and Chronicle), I was struck by how well they complemented each other. They seamlessly filled different roles while sharing a passion for family and craft beer.

K2 was ready to move forward with a new location in the city of Rochester right as the pandemic pause hit in early 2020. That space would have been utilized to increase production. But the Kennedys were able to take a step back and continue their search amid all the uncertainty. When their real estate broker approached them with the possibility of buying the Wayne County school, they thought, “Where else are we gonna get this much space and have this much of a blank canvas for this price?” Kyle said in an earlier interview.

The Kennedys put plans to renovate and expand the original Empire location on the back burner while focusing on the school spot. The application, filed and then approved by the town of Penfield in 2022, proposed some huge changes — an expanded kitchen, the addition of second-floor event space, and expansion on the north side of the property to include a covered, second-floor deck/dining space and an enclosed patio below.

K2 owners also purchased the neighboring Agway garden center at 1225 Empire Blvd. in the middle of 2023 and got plans approved by Penfield officials to use the “existing building to support the existing brewing and restaurant uses” and then provide “ancillary overflow parking.”

It’s unclear what will happen with those two approved plans. It’s also unclear what will become of the Freewill property, whether they plan to sell it or if it could be repurposed as another brewery, and how its closure impacted the brewery, kitchen, and tasting room staff there.

As I concluded in 2023, the evolution of this former elementary school was pretty wild to behold. I wrote:

After all, who woulda thought a brewery would fit so seamlessly into a school gymnasium and that a cafeteria could be transformed into a family-friendly taproom? It’s almost unbelievable, but it’s something that is inching closer and closer to becoming a reality. And one thing is certain, the Rochester area has never seen anything like it.

With tough times for all in the brewing industry, it’s tough to see and share news like this. I’m rooting for all involved and hope to see all involved land on their feet.

A final note: It’s pretty wild to think I’ve been working on this independent publication for over two years now. In that time, I’ve published nearly 250 newsletters, highlighted some of my favorite people in the industry, curated two beers festivals (that featured 150 participants and 4,600 attendees), and continued to break all the biggest news in the region (closures, consolidations, openings, etc.).

The Cleveland Prost remains the preeminent source for regional beer news. If you own a brewery, bar, or beer-adjacent business, this is the best place to reach the nerds you wanna be in front of. So I remain open to sponsorships, advertisements, and sponsored content. Feel free to reach out to me at clevelandprost@gmail.com for more. And more than anything, thanks for all the support. None of this would be possible without the devoted (and thirsty) audience.