PORTSMOUTH — After more than four years at its 900-square-foot taproom at the Portsmouth Business Park, Ragged Island Brewing has finally moved on for good.

On Wednesday, May 26, customers enjoyed their last cold ones at the 220 Highpoint Ave. address, as Ragged Island will now operate fully at its farm brewery at 54 Bristol Ferry Road.

Workers had been going back and forth between the two sites since last summer, when the Zoning Board of Review granted permission for the brewery to host outdoor beer gardens at the farm, formerly owned by the Van Hof Family, which had operated the Island Garden Shop there for 50 years. The taproom at the business park stayed open for pours and retail sales, but owner Matt Gray decided to close it up this week.

“Our lease is up here at the end of June, so it gives us time to clean up and clear out of here,” he said. “Construction is starting over there in a couple weeks. It’s a four-month buildout, and then we’re in — finally.”

Although the COVID-19 pandemic threw a monkey’s wrench into his plan for a seamless transfer from one site to the next, Mr. Gray said he feels fortunate that the town allowed the farm brewery “to still operate as a local place to go to while construction is finalizing. Hopefully, we’re up and running by fall.”

Ragged Island originally proposed to construct a modern, new building on the farm for its taproom, but pandemic-related financial constraints forced a scaled-down plan which involved renovating an existing barn on the site. The business is also making improvements to the main building — former home to the Island Garden Shop — as a retail space and additional tasting room.

Mr. Gray said leaving the business park, where Ragged Island began operations in March 2017, is bittersweet. 

“It’s been a great home for four years, but at this point and time we’re excited about the future. We’ve been planning for that for over three years now, and obviously that’s taken precedence. The reason we’re closing this place is that we outgrew it, and we’re ready for the next step,” he said.

That next step will include no mask mandate. There were few face coverings to be seen inside the taproom on Wednesday, thanks to relaxed state guidelines on masks.

“It’s great to see customers’ faces and how they’re enjoying their time,” Mr. Gray said.

Ragged Island’s beer garden at its Bristol Ferry Road site is open from 3-8 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday; and from 1-6 p.m. on Sunday. For up-to-date information, follow “raggedisland” on Instagram and Facebook. You can also visit their website at raggedislandbrewing.com.