Well, it didn’t last as long as they might have wanted, but the labor of love was fun while it lasted, said Telco Brewery co-owner Anthony Santa Cruz, announcing an end to the craft brewery on Fremont Court, south of Rye Canyon Road, in the Valencia Industrial Center.
“We just decided that we’re going to hang it up,” Santa Cruz said in a phone interview Tuesday, adding that in addition to his love of brewing, he remains active in the field for his day job that inspired his brewery’s name.
Friends Santa Cruz and Jaime Hernandez opened Telco in October 2018 after the two AT&T employees learned they shared a love of brewing and quickly found success in the Montrose Brew Festival.
They started brewing in 2015, took Best in Show at the aforementioned festival in 2016 and had permits for their brewery by the following year.
Santa Cruz and Hernandez mutually decided to go in different directions, the former added, after they ran into challenges with “work structure.”
“It was a good run,” Hernandez said in a phone interview, adding Telco weathered some difficult times during the pandemic, but ultimately the decision to close down was “a combination of things.”
Hernandez also noted his work at AT&T was demanding more of his schedule, including more travel.
“I think in the future, you never know,” he said, referring to his next move, but then he quickly added with a laugh that he “wouldn’t mind getting his weekends back.”
Santa Cruz said while Telco might be going away, he’ll never lose his passion for brewing and that he plans to ramp up his homebrewing again.
In the meantime, he’s grateful for getting a chance to meet “a lot of good people in the industry,” as well as hanging out with some of the other local brewers and the opportunity to do some commercial brewing.
“To me, every day we’re open from this point on is going to be a big celebration,” Santa Cruz said, “because I look at the adventure as a great one, and I had so much fun.”
Telco Brewery will be open Wednesday to Friday this week, and then closed this weekend for private events that were booked previously, Hernandez said.
The place will then reopen Wednesday to Sunday next week, and Wednesday to Saturday leading up to Aug. 26, Telco’s final day. More information is available on Telco’s website, telcobrewery,com.
