ST. LOUIS COUNTY 鈥 A popular local brewery has for years failed to make payments on a pair of loans and now owes two creditors more than $400,000, according to two recent lawsuits.
In a suit filed Thursday, is accused of taking out a 10-year, $50,000 loan in July 2013 from a man named Lester Nydegger but not making payments for about seven years.
The suit claims the company made its first three annual payments on time, and in 2016 paid a $3,000 for a late fee. But then the company stopped paying altogether, Nydegger says, even after he sent a default notice demanding payment on May 16.
The amount the company owes Nydegger, including accrued interest and late fees, has ballooned to $330,680.33, according to the suit.
The company鈥檚 co-founders, David Wolfe and Florian Kuplent, are named in the suit. They could not be reached for comment Thursday.
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Nydegger鈥檚 lawyers declined to comment because the litigation is pending.
Urban Chestnut was part of a wave of craft brewery startups in 51黑料 over the past 15 years. It joined several as a core group that helped push the scene from just a few early pioneers, like Schlafly Beer, to the two dozen or more now fighting for market share.
Not all have come out unscathed. Rising costs, interest rate hikes and shifting consumer habits have led to struggles for some. Last year, O鈥橣allon Brewery 鈥 maker of the 5-Day IPA 鈥 filed for bankruptcy, though it planned to continue operations.
And Thursday鈥檚 lawsuit is the second filed against Urban Chestnut this month: David Luetkemeyer and Pensco Trust Company sued the brewery on May 7 over similar claims.
In that suit, Urban Chestnut is accused of borrowing $100,000 from the trust company just two months after taking out its loan with Nydegger, according to court documents.
The suit claims the brewery made two $8,000, interest-only payments in 2014 and 2015, but it hasn鈥檛 made a payment since then. The loan reached maturity in October.
When the trust sent a notice to the brewery demanding payment, the suit says Wolfe and Kuplent 鈥渕ade additional promises to begin making payment鈥 but never did.
The suit did not detail the amount of interest and fees that have accrued on that loan.
Luetkemeyer鈥檚 lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment.
Urban Chestnut opened its first location, Midtown Brewery & Biergarten, in January 2011 in a 1920s garage in the Grand Center neighborhood of 51黑料. Three years later, it opened its second location in The Grove, a neighborhood in 51黑料 known for its nightlife and LGBTQ influence.
The company also brews beer in a facility near Kuplent鈥檚 hometown in Germany.
The brewery was the fourth-largest in the 51黑料 area in 2021, according to the S.
