DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – A popular winery and brewery is up for sale in Dubuque.
The Stone Cliff Winery and Star Brewery are on the market after owners Bob and Nan Smith announced their decision to retire at the end of the year.
“It’ll be bittersweet,” said Nan Smith. “Because these people are family to me.”
In the late 1990s, the Smiths started to produce wine in their garage, before moving into the Star Brewing Building in 2006.
“We’ve grown into this building,” explained Smith. “I didn’t ever believe that we’d outgrow it. It’s almost outgrown, but it’s been fun. So we started out small, [but] we just keep getting bigger and bigger.”
Retirement has recently loomed larger for the Smiths, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith said. They started delegating more responsibility to the Stone Cliff staff.
“We did that so Bob and I could take off for longer …