Popular North Carolina brewery closes indefinitely after co-founder dies in accident

A popular North Carolina brewery has been closed until further notice after one of its co-founders reportedly died in an accident.

Charlotte’s Wooden Robot Brewery closed its two taprooms in the city’s South End and NoDa locations on Tuesday “until further notice” “due to unforeseen circumstances,” the brewery said in an initial announcement on social media around 4 p.m.

A few hours later, co-founder Josh Patton announced in a separate post that the business had closed due to an accident that killed Dan Wade, who is listed on the brewery’s website as one of Wooden Robot’s co-founders and its operations manager.

“It is with extreme sadness and heavy hearts that we share this news,” Patton wrote on Facebook. “Due to an accident that occurred today, we have lost one of our founders, co-owners and friend, Dan.”

Patton said they were “still in shock and need time to process everything,” adding they would keep their customers updated on their activities.

“Your thoughts and prayers for Dan’s family, his wife and son are greatly appreciated at this time,” he added.

Investigations ongoing

A spokesperson for Mecklenburg EMS Agency, commonly known as Medic, told USA TODAY that Medic responded to a fall-related emergency call from 1440 South Tryon Street, the brewery’s South End location, just after 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. One patient was pronounced dead at the scene, the spokesperson said.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) said the incident was classified as a public accident and that the department was only contacted to assist MEDIC.

The North Carolina Department of Labor said in a statement to USA TODAY that police notified the state Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Division of “an accident at this location.”

“A compliance officer has been assigned to begin investigating the report,” the statement said.

sympathy

Breweries in and around Charlotte expressed their shock at the tragic incident and offered condolences on Wade’s death.

“We are incredibly saddened and cannot believe the loss of one of the greatest in the Charlotte brewing community,” Heist Brewery wrote on Instagram. “We had the pleasure of working with Dan and the crew at Wooden Robot several times, and each time was better than the last. He was a wealth of knowledge and a wonderful human being.”

“This is a sad day for the brewing community in the Charlotte area,” said Southern Range Brewing, a family-owned craft brewery in Monroe. “Our hearts break for the entire Wooden Robot family.”

“Our community lost a very special person today,” said Firehawk Brewpub.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wooden Robot Brewery to close after co-founder Dan Wade dies in fall