Destination Unknown Beer Co. owner shares an emotional goodbye

“Shutting down a business is actually harder than starting one.”

That’s how an emotional Chris Candiano described the decision to close Destination Unknown Beer Company in Bay Shore — affectionately known as Dubco — after more than a decade in business.

Candiano told Greater Long Island that the closure was not driven by declining sales or a lack of customers. In fact, he said it was the opposite.

“What we grew this brand to is amazing,” Candiano said. “It’s just that the demand was too much for me to do it myself.”

Candiano said he has been weighing the brewery’s future for about a year, exploring several options to keep the Bay Shore location open, including consolidating resources and seeking outside investment.

“We’ve been trying to figure out some way — any way — to keep it open,” he said. “But it’s been hard.”

Destination Unknown was founded in 2014 and quickly became known for its Dubco IPA and cocktail-inspired beers. At its peak, the brewery employed about 30 people and expanded to a second location in Warwick, in the lower Hudson Valley. That location closed around Thanksgiving.

The Bay Shore taproom is expected to remain open until mid-January, depending on inventory levels.

“I’ve come to terms with it,” Candiano said. “It wasn’t a rash decision. We weighed so many solutions, but this is what we were left with.”

Despite the closure, Candiano said he remains proud of what the brewery became.

“We built this thing from nothing into the amazing brand it is today,” he said. “I just want to say to all our customers, thank you for being part of this journey.”

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Top: Chris Candiano (R) and the Dubco team at Dubtoberfest in 2019. (Credit: Nick Esposito)