By: Pat Ferrier | The Coloradoan
Compass Cider has closed its downtown cidery two years after opening at 216 N. College Ave.
Owned by Bob Blythe, the cider house lounge was built in 2013 and opened in February 2014 after it merged with Blossomwood Cidery of Cedaredge, one of the oldest operating cideries in the state. Blythe added a firepit and patio in June 2014.
On Friday, Compass Cider was locked with cartons of glassware still sitting on the bar. Blythe was not available for an interview.
Compass briefly closed in July when it moved its cider-making operations from the Western Slope and the former home of Blossomwood to Fort Collins. Under Colorado law, the tasting room could not operate while the production facility was closed.
The building is in the 200 block of downtown, which Fort Collins-based Brinkman Partners purchased in July for $5.37 million.
Josh Guernsey, a partner at Brinkman said of Blythe: “we worked with him as long as we could and we are parting ways at this point. We wish him the best going forward.”
Guernsey said the company has large-scale renovation plans for the block that will be released in coming weeks, but Compass “vacating was not related to our future plans.”
The block includes a distillery, brewery, pawn shop, tattoo parlor and interior design studio. It is considered a prime redevelopment spot in downtown Fort Collins and sits catty-corner from Block 23, which is slated for redevelopment into 180 apartments and commercial space.
Guernsey said many of the existing tenants are key components to Brinkman’s redevelopment project.