A kombucha taproom in Salt Lake City that adopted a “staffless” self-serve model earlier this year is closing, according to a post from the owner on Instagram.
Renourish Kombucha Tap Room, located near Liberty Park at 1314 S. 500 East, will be closed by Friday at around noon, said Raquel Speroni, who opened the space in December 2022.
Speroni told The Salt Lake Tribune that it has a “rough year” for her. Choosing not to go into detail, she said a divorce contributed to the closure.
She also said the tap room’s numbers weren’t keeping up with the cost of operations, and that “rent alone in this space is so expensive.”
“Small business is hard, costly and time-consuming, and sometimes, it just doesn’t work out,” she said.
Speroni switched the taproom from a more traditional kombucha bar format to a self-serve model in April, where visitors would use their smartphones and a credit card to unlock the front door and purchase kombucha and other items. They’d be allowed to walk behind the bar and pour their own kombucha from the 12 taps on the wall, and were welcome to hang out as long as they liked.
She said the self-serve model was actually “working great,” and that she she’d been getting a lot of positive feedback about it.
In her Instagram post, Speroni said, “I want to thank each and every one of you who has supported me and the taproom for the last two years. I’ve learned so many lessons, met so many wonderful people, and my heart did little flips with each kind message, whether in person, on social media, or with the magnets,” which could be found on the wall where the taps were located.
A local sober group called Sober Squad had been meeting at Renourish for about a year, gathering for meetups in the space once a month. (For details, follow the group on Instagram: @sobersquad.slc.)
Paige Holmgren, one of the founders of the group, told The Tribune that Sober Squad “is so sad to see Renourish close. Raquel is an amazing person and we have loved our monthly meetups at Renourish. It was such a unique and inviting experience that was perfect for our group. We wish all the best for Raquel.”
Holmgren said the group is actively seeking a new location for their monthly meetups that isn’t a coffee place, since they already do coffee gatherings. Before Renourish, the group originally met at Curiosity, a nonalcoholic bar that was located on 900 South in Salt Lake City and closed a year ago.