Nearly two years after announcing plans to open a new taproom at 976 Elmwood Avenue on the corner of Elmwood and Bidwell Parkway, Community Beer Works has pulled out of the project, CBW’s Director of Operations Chris Groves says.

In a statement, Groves told WKBW that the brewery actually hasn’t been a part of the project for over a year.

In the time since its announcement, the Elmwood-Bidwell project has undergone a number of setbacks and delays, such as the discovery of previously unknown structural issues, as well as multiple redesigns. The project received final approval from the city in December.

Groves says that the brewery will now shift their focus to ‘optimizing’ their Chandler Street facility as well as their other existing locations.

“We are optimizing everything from grain to glass,” Graves said of what ‘optimizing’ their Chandler facility means. “We want very badly to share a beer again with our customers, we just have to do it right, and that, today, means slowly, one step at a time.”

Groves adds that the brewery is not ready to say what’s next just yet, but that doesn’t mean that they are necessarily sitting still.

“What next we aren’t ready to say just yet,” Groves said. “It’s not that we aren’t moving forward with something, we just want to wait until things are further along. We are working on something. When we are ready, it’s going to be pretty exciting.”

There are currently no plans to reopen their taproom on 7th Street.

In the meantime, you can find Community Beer Works beer at select bars and restaurants around Western New York, as well as wherever great craft beer is sold.

Brian Campbell is co-founder and Brand Manager of the Buffalo Beer League, and writes the weekly Buffalo Beer Buzz column. If you have beer news that should be included in the Beer Buzz, Brian can be reached at brian@buffalobeerleague.com, on Twitter (@buffbeerleague), Instagram, Threads and Untappd (@buffalobeerleague), and Facebook (@thebuffalobeerleague).