Founded in 2013 by Lee Cooper in Newton, Massachusetts, Hopsters merged a craft-brewery and restaurant with a “brew your own beer” experience, inviting customers to personally craft beer batches from one of their 30 recipes, paired with food and drinks in a cozy pub setting.
By June 2014, it had received the first commercial brewing license for Newton since the suburb’s founding, allowing expansion into bar sales and wholesale distribution.
Due to its community-patronage fundraising, Hopsters raised $1.3M from over 700 investors to open a second, 6,000 sq ft location in Boston’s Seaport District in early 2018. By early 2019, revenue at both locations was around $6 M projected annually (~$1.1 M revenue just in Q1 at Seaport).
Failed. What Happened?
In September 2020, Hopsters filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing pandemic-related declines in customer traffic—especially at its Newton location, where demographics and fear of dining out depressed sales significantly.
By November 2020, court proceedings led to the case being converted to Chapter 7 liquidation, signaling that the business was likely ceasing operations entirely.