A chance too good to pass up has led to the closing of Heaven & Ale on Main Street in Chattanooga, according to owner Joe Winland. The good news, according to Winland, is that another locally owned restaurant will replace it.
Basecamp on Frazier Avenue co-owner Brett Allen confirmed in a telephone interview Wednesday that he and partner Jacob Mundy were working to open a new restaurant in the space.
"I can say that we are very excited to be on the Southside, and that it will not be a second Basecamp location," he said.
He added that the details were still being ironed out, and that they would have more information soon about their plans.
Winland said the timing was simply right to close down Heaven & Ale and begin a new chapter for him and his wife, Kathryn, and their three boys, West, Noah and Max.
"We just had a pretty sweet opportunity from another restaurant group looking to expand its operation," he said.
"We had a lot of interest in our space given our location and the bones of the space. The timing on our end with where I'm at and where my family is at."
Winland said he has accepted a job as an adjunct English and literary teacher at Chattanooga State, and that he hopes to get back into coaching, perhaps at the high school level in the future.
"It's something I've done before," he said. "In fact, prior to in 2013 (when he opened Heaven & Ale), I spent nine years as English teacher and baseball and softball coach at St. Pius (X Catholic High School) in Atlanta.
"I'm looking forward to teaching again and I'm anxious to get back into coaching, too."
The closing comes about a year after Heaven & Ale stopped its distribution business to focus on its taproom operation. Winland opened the Main Street location in 2020, seven years after he opened the original venue on Cherokee Boulevard.
Ryan Hargrove opened a location in Ooltewah in 2015, and Heaven & Ale began a full-production brewery in 2017.
The Main Street location was the last of the Heaven & Ale locations.
"The real beginning of the end, I guess, was really the unexpected passing of [brewer] Mike White. We just couldn't recover from losing him, and then the pandemic hit, but this is great timing for me and my family, and it's a win for the Southside."
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354. Follow him on Twitter @BarryJC.