Troubled brewery Goodwood files for bankruptcy; Lexington location sold
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Goodwood filed Chapter 7 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Louisville.
- Company reported $1–10 million in assets and 100–199 creditors in its petition.
- Lexington, Frankfort and O’Fallon locations began operating as Doc Crow’s Social.
Goodwood Brewing and Spirits, a Louisville-based company that opened several brewpubs including one in Lexington, has filled for bankruptcy liquidation.
The Chapter 7 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Louisville indicates the company has assets and liabilities between $1 million and $10 million, with between 100 and 199 creditors.
The bankruptcy petition was signed by Goodwood co-founder and CEO Ted Mitzlaff. The company has been in financial difficulties for some time and faced multiple lawsuits over debts, rent and taxes.
Mitzlaff did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In March, he told the Herald-Leader that “Goodwood is going through a major reorganization” that would include the location at Lexington Green.
In March, Goodwood closed two Louisville locations and in April the Lexington, Frankfort and O’Fallon, Missouri, brewpubs were sold to Ted Bertuca Jr., who owns Doc Crow’s Southern Smokehouse & Raw Bar.
Bertuca said he reached an agreement to take over the leases on those locations and took over operations on April 22 with branding for a slightly different concept, Doc Crow’s Social.
An Owensboro location closed April 26. A Daviess County judge has issued a default judgment for nearly $100,000 in unpaid rent and entered a restraining order to stop assets from being removed from the property. The judge was scheduled to enter a writ of possession when the bankruptcy filing occurred.
Although some of the leases have been taken over by Doc Crow’s Social, the LLCs for individual locations of Goodwood, including Goodwood Lexington and Goodwood Frankfort, also will be filing affiliate bankruptcy petitions, according to the filing.
A meeting of creditors is scheduled to be held July 20 at 2:30 p.m. via Zoom.
Founded in 2015, Goodwood was once Louisville’s largest brewery by production, according to Louisville Business First.
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But in recent years it has been mired in financial difficulties. It began as Bluegrass Brewing Co. in 2005 but rebranded in 2015 under Mitzlaff and the company began an expansion, specializing in beer aged in used bourbon barrels. The company operates taproom restaurants with a menu of burgers and Southern staples.
What happened to Goodwood Brewing?
Goodwood is facing lawsuits by an investor, a landlord and multiple vendors.
It also is still paying off back taxes owed to the state.
Last year, the Lexington location was sued by its landlord, but that was dismissed in October.
According to a lawsuit filed March 6 in Jefferson Circuit Court, Goodwood owes about $225,000 in unpaid rent for January, February and March, as well as unpaid property taxes for the Whiskey Row location. The case has been referred to the master commissioner for judgment.
A separate lawsuit filed in October in Jefferson Circuit Court alleges the company owes more than $125,000 to Sysco Louisville; Sysco filed a motion for summary judgment in that case on March 11.
Creation Gardens, another vendor, also sued in Jefferson Circuit Court in January 2025, alleging Goodwood Brewing owes them $54,000. That case is pending.
In Franklin Circuit Court, multiple Goodwood locations have been sued by the Finance and Administration Cabinet for back taxes. In 2023, the brewery reached an agreement to pay back more than $404,000 in installments. That case has been ongoing.
