The end of an era is always challenging.
Birds Fly South Ale Project announced on Instagram it will close on Oct. 10. It was a surprise to many members of “The Flock,” as owners Shawn and Lindsay Johnson like to call their loyal clientele.
The Johnsons said the closing of the Hampton Station location in Greenville didn’t come down to just one thing.
“It’s been a lot of things coming together to force this decision on us, and we tried everything we could,” Lindsay said. “We had to make this really tough decision. It is definitely coming as a surprise to everyone who has been a fan of Birds Fly South because they never saw it coming, but it’s really the best decision for our family as well.”
Although the closing may be hard, the Johnsons are optimistic about the fate of the beloved taproom.
“It’s not a failure. There’s a lot of great things that come out of this company,” Shawn said. “What we tried to strive to do, I think we achieved it. It’s just not ending the way we wanted or planned.”
What’s next?
The Johnson family have made several moves together. Shawn’s time in the Coast Guard took them from Florida to Alaska, back to Florida, Washington D.C., and finally, to Greenville.
They opened Birds Fly South in 2016, and gastropub, Perch, in 2022, which closed in August of this year.
Like many military-affiliated families, they’re no strangers to new beginnings and making a home wherever their feet land. The Johnsons’ next home is Colorado, where they’ll move before winter hits in November. They’ll focus on their family, skiing and begin a new adventure.
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“They say once a nomad, always a nomad,” Shawn said.
That said, Shawn and Lindsay Johnson expressed a love for Greenville and the community they became a part of here, expressing a positive reflection of the past and enthusiasm for the future.
“When you’re busy and have a company as vibrant as Birds is, or was, it’s really hard to appreciate the impact you tried to accomplish and see if it’s happening. With the news going out, it’s heartfully evident that we achieved a lot more than we even realized,” Shawn said.
