Rockmill Brewery Operators Purchase Lancaster Property at Auction

Austin and Taylor Caulk, who have been operating Rockmill Brewery since last year, say they are now owners of the Lancaster property.

The couple had been trying to purchase the land in a short sale before it foreclosed, but the property went up for auction this month. After three bids, the auction ended last night with a winning bid of $2,400,600. The Caulks announced the news in a social media post:

"If you've ever sat at the bar and grabbed a beer, chances are you've heard about the long process of owning Rockmill. Today, we are excited to share a monumental milestone with all of you! We won the auction!

"We owe a massive thank you to each one of you for your unwavering support throughout this journey. From our loyal regulars to the new faces who have joined us along the way, your belief in us has been the driving force behind our determination. Thank you, Dean and Sharon Lee, Dana and Kelley Johnson, and Tom Brankamp. As we embark on this exciting chapter, stay tuned for updates on our grand reopening! We can't wait to create new memories, share laughter, and raise a glass of our favorite Rockmill beer with all of you once again."

Columbus Monthly’s January feature story, "The Sad Spiral of Rockmill Brewery," documented the founding of the brewery by Matthew Barbee and his mother, Judy Jones Smalley; the wild popularity of Rockmill's idyllic location and its Belgian beers; and the brewery's eventual downward trajectory, including the 2016 opening and 2022 closing of Rockmill Tavern in Columbus' Brewery District, which landed on the magazine's Best Restaurants list in 2017 and 2018. Barbee now lives in Puerto Rico.