Christine Celis, who resurrected her late father Pierre Celis’ long-shuttered brewery in 2017, did not return requests for comment.
Messages left for representatives from Amplify Credit Union and Streusand, Landan, Ozburn & Lemmon LLP were also unreturned.
Additionally, Celis is facing a trio of liens filed earlier this year against the company for thousands of dollars in unpaid construction and electrical work.
In an “affidavit claiming lien” dated February 1, Hill Morrison of Hill Morrison Construction Services claims that Celis owes “at least $271,872.81” for the construction of a beer garden and remodeling work.
According to a second “affidavit claiming a lien,” dated March 15, R&M Electric owner Rick Hendrick said his company is owed $8,211.85 for electrical work done at Celis in November 2018. Also on March 15, Elliott Electric Supply Inc. filed a “mechanic’s and materialman’s lien affidavit” seeking $5,058.80 from FFBC for materials provided to R&M for work done from October to December 2018.
As Brewbound reported in May, rumors of financial struggles, layoffs, and a potential bankruptcy filing dogged Celis throughout the beginning of 2019. At the time, a new investor group was considering acquiring the distressed brewery. Sources told Brewbound then that the Celis operation was in trouble soon after opening in 2017, after overspending on a 50,000-barrel brewery in northwest Austin and relying on financial models that required high double-digit, year-over-year growth in order to service debt.
Last year, Celis’ production increased 320 percent, to 11,339 barrels of beer.
According to a “modification and extension agreement” filed with the Travis County Clerk’s Office this past April, Flemish Fox Brewery & Craftworks reached an agreement with Amplify Credit Union to suspend payments on the principal $5.3 million note it first took out in March 2016, from February 1 through July 1, 2019. The company was to resume payment on August 1, with the total balance to be completely repaid by September 1, 2037.”
The above is from Brewbound, at the time of this posting, Celis has not filed for bankruptcy, however, it is expected to do so soon.
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