News came down yesterday that RiverBend Brewing, located on north Division Street, will be closing the pub and restaurant this coming Monday, November 19, while the brewery portion will remain open. This is the official word that head brewer Chasen Schultz sent out:

It comes as sad news that, as of 11/19/2018, our original brew pub will be closing its doors because of health reasons. The brewery will remain open and continue to produce draft, bottle, and can favorites as well as future seasonal and one off releases. There are currently plans in the works to open a taproom, or small brewpub in the Bend area, as well as expand distribution to other regions.

Riverbend Brewing started in 2013, offering classic and innovative beers served across the Pacific Northwest. Recently excelling in niche and unique beers, we will strive to maintain our image as a brewery and produce quality beer. A small passionate staff takes pride in finding new ways to be out of the box, and will continue to be a no limits style company.

RiverBend occupies an interesting niche in the beer scene in that the brewery and the pub, while sharing a parking lot, are in separate buildings which makes the closure of the restaurant logistically easier. So we’ll continue to see RiverBend beers in the market, but there won’t be the direct pub outlet for them any more.

That restaurant location has gone through a number of changes over the years. It started out as the (then new) location of the Italian Cottage, then housed a BBQ place, Pepe’s Mexican, and more recently was Rivals Sports Bar prior to changing to RiverBend. You might remember that Rivals hosted Texas Hold’em as well.

Upcoming plans, according to KTVZ, is for the space to become a marijuana dispensary.