The owners of The Thirsty Sasquatch taproom in Uptown Vancouver surprised the community Monday with a Facebook post announcing that they’re looking for a buyer to take over the business.
But co-owner Sharon Cram says she wants to make it clear that the popular Main Street establishment isn’t going anywhere.
“(I would tell community members) ‘don’t worry,'” she says. “We’re pretty confident that The Thirsty Sasquatch as they all know and love it will continue.”
The popular taproom opened in April 2015 and offers a rotating selection of more than two dozen beers and ciders, most of which are from West Coast microbrewers, along with a menu of spirits, wines and cocktails.
Cram says the decision to sell is primarily about time management for Cram and her husband, Jeremy. The pair also jointly own a dog boarding business in Portland called Club K-9. Cram says they want to devote more time to that business, as well as spending more time as a family with their children.
“We’re just stretched a little thin,” she says.
Cram says that when she and her husband opened The Thirsty Sasquatch at 2110 Main St., their goal was to give Vancouver its own taproom at a time when the city had few options. The Crams live in Vancouver, but found they always had to go to Portland to find taprooms and brewpubs to get drinks with friends.
The taproom began seeing frequent customers before the interior was fully built, Cram says, and has enjoyed consistent popularity in subsequent years.
The Thirsty Sasquatch arrived at an early point during a period of rapid growth in Vancouver’s taproom and brewpub scene. Trap Door Brewing, Uptown Barrel Room, Tap Union Freehouse, Doomsday Brewing Tap House and Heathen Feral Public House opened on or near Main Street in the next few years.
“I think that Vancouver is really becoming a destination for beer,” Cram says.
Sharon Cram says she and Jeremy Cram began discussing the possibility of selling The Thirsty Sasquatch a couple years ago as the taproom and Club K-9 both became increasingly busy. The sale would allow them to put more energy into Club K-9 and possibly look at opening a second location for the kennel, she says. But they only made the decision about a month ago.
They started by reaching out privately to a few friends and other people about the sale, and then decided to add the Facebook post to gauge public interest and connect with potential buyers. The public response was swift. Cram says they received multiple serious inquiries in just a few hours after the post appeared.
Cram says they’ll be looking for buyers who are interested in keeping The Thirsty Sasquatch going with the existing business model. The taproom employs a staff of five and features interior seating and a rear patio seating area. The Crams at one point considered expanding the business, she says, but it will be up to the new owner to decide the taproom’s future.
One thing a future owner could consider is the addition of food, Cram says. The taproom doesn’t offer food and encourages guests to bring their own. But there’s space for a food cart on the rear patio and the Crams previously acquired a permit to add one.
“That’s the road we were going on,” Cram says.
