Owners of shuttered downtown Phoenix brewery fined for failure to pay taxes

PHOENIX — The owners of a downtown Phoenix brewery that suddenly closed two years ago have been fined more than $650,000 after they were caught not paying taxes.

Julie Meeker and Jimmie McBride, owners of Mother Bunch Brewing, were ordered Monday to pay restitution and fines totaling $657,000 for failing to pay the transaction privilege tax and Arizona individual income tax between Feb. 1, 2015, and Jan. 31, 2020.

Meeker and McBride in January each pleaded guilty to one count of failure to pay tax in January.

Mother Bunch closed abruptly in Jan. 2020, with Meeker saying the decision to shut down was the hardest decision of her life.

The brewery, which Meeker ran with her husband McBride, opened in 2014.

“I want to personally thank all of our great staff and especially all of the wonderful and amazing people I have had the chance to meet over the last five years,” she said in a post.

“I will never regret this opportunity to share my love of craft beer and spread the story of women in brewing.”

Mother Bunch was located at Seventh and Garfield streets.

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