Less than two years after moving from its original location to meld with a former comfort food cradle down the street, Trails End Taproom at The Mason Jar has reached the end of the ride in Colorado Springs.

Whether it’s the end of the road, full-stop, for the city’s first pour-your-own taproom remains to be seen, said owner Kevin Weese.

The west-side business at 2925 W. Colorado Ave. closed for the winter season on Jan. 1, with promises to return in the spring. A commercial-sized “for sale” sign now planted out front speaks to more permanent changes in the works, however.

Weese said that despite putting the property on the market — for $2.15 million — last week, the fate of the taproom is still very much up in the air.

If the building doesn’t sell quickly, and perhaps even if it does, Weese said he could see a version of Trails End Taproom, indeed, returning.

If it does, “that full menu, and getting your Mason Jar chicken fried steak while you drink Trails End (self-pour) beer, will not happen,” he said.

Turns out, blending old-school and new was a great concept in theory.

“I tried really, really, really hard to merge Mason Jar and Trails End … tried to merge the ‘best of the best’ of two businesses with different philosophies,” said Weese. Instead, he said it led to friction among leadership staff that had “different philosophies,” and alienated old-school fans of both businesses.

The world-blending bust was compounded by rising operating costs, for a business that suddenly had upped its food game from pizzas and nachos to a full menu, with a full kitchen and the “inherited” staff required to run it, even on a slow night.

“Since we opened, our food (costs) has doubled or tripled, in some areas,” Weese said. Financially, “it still made sense if we were busy, but …. when you charge $15 for a burger and you’re still losing money? ”

The early months of the year are typically the slowest for alcohol sales, with many people celebrating “Dry January” and eschewing the product that represents a restaurant’s biggest money maker.

Weese opened Trails End Taproom in 2017 in leased space in the end units of the shopping plaza at 31st Street and Colorado Avenue. When he bought the Mason Jar property in 2022, his plan was to expand his brand and create a hybrid space — absorbing Mason Jar staff, and much of its menu, while keeping Trails End’s limited pub staples and staff, as well as its focus on serving and supporting the local outdoors community.

“My goal was to not lay off anyone during the merger,” Weese said.

Those employees, some of whom had worked for the Mason Jar for 25 years or more, have been told that, while Weese has “aspirations of reinventing Trails End and reopening,” they should seek other employment.

“I’m not asking anyone to wait for three months,” he said.

He said there are no plans to close Trails End Taproom’s Monument location, which opened in early 2022.

Whatever the future of Weese’s Springs property, the news comes on the heels of a turbulent year for breweries and taprooms in the city. In 2023, the Springs said goodbye to Smiling Toad Brewing Co. and Rocky Mountain Brewery, saw Battle Mountain Brewing’s relocation to Castle Rock, as well as the abandonment of several long-anticipated projects.

On a happier note, WestFax Brewing Co’s. multistory, indoor-outdoor taproom continues to take shape at 31st  and Pikes Peak Avenue. The Lakewood-based brewery originally eyed a late 2023 grand opening for its first expansion beyond the Denver metro area, and hasn’t yet announced a revised ETA.

Trails End Taproom’s original location in Red Rocks Canyon Shopping Center has been “for lease,” and vacant, since Weese moved out in the summer of 2022.