Steel Wheel
How is everyone feeling about Steel Wheel since the ownership change?
Curious if anyone else who used to go regularly feels the same way, because I’ve tried to give the new ownership a fair chance, but it just feels like a completely different place now.
The beer is still great, and the longtime staff who are still there deserve credit. But the overall experience has really gone downhill for me. No more table service, fewer staff, food being unavailable or just not great, less upkeep, and the taproom has lost a lot of the personality it used to have. Having part of it used as office space for the owner’s other business is also… an interesting choice.
The social media is another weird one. It used to feel like a cool local craft brewery, and now the feed is full of AI-generated posts and videos of the owner. For a brewery, there seems to be surprisingly little content actually about the beer.
The vibe in general has changed a lot too. Seeing the owner drinking there pretty regularly and the addition of giant beer towers gives it more of a frat/sports bar feel, which is pretty far from what I liked about Steel Wheel in the first place.
I’ve also noticed other longtime customers bringing up similar issues online, and the response to criticism hasn't exactly made me feel like the feedback is welcome. Meanwhile, some of the glowing reviews seem to come from people connected to the business, which doesn't help the optics.
Obviously new owners are going to make changes, and I never expected it to stay exactly the same. But it feels like a lot of what made Steel Wheel such a hidden gem has been lost really quickly.
The beer is still good. I’m just not sure that’s enough anymore.
Anyone else been since the change? Curious what other people think.