Platform Beer Co. announced today that all of its locations will be closed through next Tuesday, March 9, in order to give employees a “well-deserved rest.” Platform runs LOCOBA in Cincinnati’s Over-The-Rhine neighborhood in addition to spaces in Cleveland and Columbus.
The announcement comes the week after the entire six-person staff of the brewery’s Columbus taproom quit in a walkout citing unsafe working conditions and general mismanagement by owner Justin Carson. Specifically, that Covid precautions weren’t taken seriously and that labor had been cut while Platform, now owned by Anheuser-Busch, pumped out pandemic-proof profits.
Unclear, based on the brief announcement, is whether those employees will be paid during this time of rest, whether Platform will be using the time to address the concerns voiced by the Columbus staff, or if anyone can distinguish in any meaningful way the differences between the brewery’s ~183 beers. (We kid.)
A GoFundMe has been organized to support the six Columbus taproom workers now out of jobs. Donations have eclipsed $3,100 already, including $300 from Shaun Yasaki of Noble Beast, who was once the head brewer at Platform before departing to start his own project.
This story was originally published by CityBeat sister paper Cleveland Scene.
This article appears in Best Of Cincinnati 2021.