Hotel Tango Distillery closing tasting rooms in Zionsville, Fort Wayne
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Hotel Tango Distillery, a leader in Indiana’s craft spirits industry since opening in 2014, will close two of its three tasting rooms, co-founders Travis and Hilary Barnes announced Thursday.
Locations in Zionsville and Fort Wayne are ceasing operations, leaving Hotel Tango with its original tasting room in the Fletcher Place neighborhood, 702 Virginia Ave., in Indianapolis.
“After a few tough years of trying to weather the storm of COVID, inflation and the requirement preventing self-distribution, we have made the hard decision to close these two tasting rooms,” Travis Barnes said in a written statement. “Unfortunately, the increased costs from being unable to self-distribute made these two locations unprofitable.”
Under the three-tier alcohol system Indiana established after Prohibition, alcohol producers such as wineries, breweries and distilleries cannot sell their products directly to retailers and restaurants. Instead, they must distribute products through a wholesaler.
Bottles of Hotel Tango bourbon, vodka and gin are sold in stores in 25 states and on 120 military bases around the world.
The husband-and-wife ownership team indicated Hotel Tango will focus on growing its retail sales in the Midwest.
Hotel Tango opened a tasting room billed as HT2 in Fort Wayne in January 2020. The location, which consolidated a Fantastic Sams hair salon and a chiropractic office in a retail center, was rebranded as Hotel Tango Fort Wayne in 2021.
The Hotel Tango Zionsville tasting room opened in the former location of a Pizza King restaurant, 10615 Zionsville Road, in January 2021.
“Since our opening in 2014, we have always strived to be a place where everyone feels welcome and one that gives back to the communities we serve,” Hilary Barnes said in a written statement. “While our presence [in Fort Wayne and Zionsville] may have been shorter than expected, we hope we served you well.”
Hotel Tango operates an event center, the Foxhole, at 670 Virginia Ave.