Citing financial pressures, Wildwoods Brewing, located on Seymour Street in North Bay, has ceased its taproom and brewery operations, effective Dec. 21.
The brewer was only known by that name for about six months — its previous namesake was the New Ontario Brewing Co. — and between the two, operated for nine often successful years at two locations in town.
Wildwoods announced the closure through its social media channels:
"It is with heavy hearts that we are announcing the closure of the Taproom. We moved into 1401 Seymour excited to grow with North Bay but, unfortunately, the debts we accrued over COVID, along with ever-increasing costs in the manufacturing industry have made it impossible for us to continue. As such, our last day of operation will be December 21, 2024 ... We hope everyone can get a pint before we close the curtains."
New Ontario came out of the gates quickly as a business and brand and was named New Business of the Year in 2016 as the North Bay and District Chamber of Commerce held its Bell Evening of Excellence Awards.
See related: New Ontario Brewing expanding after successful year
Co-owners Ron Clancy and Mike Harrison and team opened New Ontario's doors in September 2015, selling products from the retail store and manufacturing facilities on Cassells Street. New Ontario quickly gained a foothold in dozens of bars and restaurants in North Bay and surrounding areas.
"The brewery was started to bring truly Northern Ontario products to the local marketplace," Clancy and Harrison explain on the company website. "As lifelong friends and passionate beer fans, we decided to set up shop at the corner of Cassells Street and the bypass, right along the Trans-Canada Highway."
The co-owners are proud military veterans who leveraged their business to support present and past armed forces members.
“After my last tour, I was thinking of what I should do next and I had been homebrewing for a while," said Harrison in 2020. "So, I took a couple of courses and my wife supported me 100 per cent, and she was my biggest cheerleader from day one so when we made that decision, we jumped in headfirst and we brought in the proper equipment and training and staff and we were able to open with a relatively modern facility. It wasn’t an easy transition going from military life to making beer, but it's one that I find exceptionally rewarding.”
See also: Larger facility gives New Ontario Brewing Co. space to develop new and innovative products
Due to size constraints, New Ontario eventually moved to the more spacious Seymour location and held its grand opening in September 2020.
In June, when the brand switched to Wildwoods, the make-up of the ownership group had changed but a similar vision remained.
"We have grown so much since that small shop on Cassells, a shop that was started with three friends and a shared dream of bringing quality craft beer to the North Bay. What started as a bottle shop primarily focused on growler sales has now turned into a brewery selling province-wide, while also having an accommodating taproom hosting bands, workshops, work parties, and weddings.
"We plan on growing still. The name and logo is a reflection of that. It is no secret our team has always been a fan of the outdoors, as seen in our original logo. Our new brand is a reflection on where we come from, and what we grew into. Welcome to Wildwoods Brewing."
An interesting footnote, during the pandemic, New Ontario shifted gears by changing its facility from producing craft beer to producing hand sanitizer to help not only those on the front lines but help everyone to take that extra step in being more socially conscious about the need to consistently decontaminate their hands and the surfaces they touch.
New Ontario/Wildwoods left a lasting impression on craft brew drinkers and the shifting nightlife scene in North Bay.
Said Harrison, reminiscing on the origin of New Ontario Brewing, “We started planning in 2012-2013 and, at that point, craft beer wasn’t really popular in North Bay. You would have maybe one or two different craft breweries at each pub. When we finally opened in 2015 and we started knocking on doors, most of them were supportive of a local product and business, but some of the other ones had never had a craft product before.”
