Fat Lady Brewing's Closure Is Bittersweet For Owner Jane Lipton

MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA — After about four years, Manayunk's Fat Lady Brewing has closed. And the beloved establishment's closure is bittersweet for founder and owner Jane Lipton.

Lipton made the closing announcement Monday on the business's social media pages, and her personal page.

"From the bottom of our hearts, thank you," she wrote. "The business was built on community, laughter, and moments of joy too numerous to count."

When she and her late wife Karen Klokka decided to open the brewery at 4323 Main St., a property that's been in her family for 40 years, their mantra was "community, community, community."

They got a leg up from Joey and Abby Feerrar of the now closed Bald Birds Brewing, which was located at 4323 Main St., as well. The Feerrars suggested Lipton get her brewer's license after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Feerrar's to close their brewery, and in September 2021, Fat Lady opened.

"I'm overwhelmed by the outpouring of support," she told Patch after sharing news of the closure.

The reason for closing is two-fold, she said. One, she's simply ready to retire.

"I've been working a really long time," she said. Lipton, 66, started working at her family's business, Two By Four Antiques and Collectibles on South Street, when she was 14.

And, entering Fat Lady served as a reminder of Klokka, who died in 2023 after the two were together for 36 years.

"Once Karen was gone, it was painful to be there," she said of the brewery and taproom. While entering the business became easier as time passed after her death, the spirit of her late wife remained in the space and played a motivating factor in the decision to close.

"I didn't want to do it without her anymore," Lipton said.

But that's to say looking back on Fat Lady's run isn't joyful.

"It was a magical space," she said. "It was colorful, the lights were beautiful, it had pride flags on a wall."

Lipton for years worked in branding and marketing, she said. But Fat Lady's feel was all Kolkka, she said.

"She placed every light bulb, went up on a ladder 150 times to place every bulb," she said. "It was a labor of love."

Fat Lady never advertised itself as a bar for the LGBTQ+ community, but it was a safe space for those folks.

"The hardest thing for me is I've been alive long enough and in various neighborhoods long enough to remember when there were no LGBTQ safe spaces," she said. "I am really proud of the contribution we made to that here."

Lipton didn't feel the need to make her being in that community a defining feature, but she is very proud of it.

And she's incredibly proud of creating a space where people could be themselves, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other personal trait that has been "othered" historically.

That philosophy was echoed in Fat Lady's branding, as well.

"Karen and I wanted a circus theme, even months before we had the name," she said.

The circus theme was enticing in that at the circus, everybody is welcome.

"Performers built families in circuses," she said. "They found family, love, and acceptable in circuses. We loved the idea of a welcoming space for all."

Fat Lady's first bits of marketing invited guests to be who they wanted to be, to join the greatest show on earth by being diverse, accepting, and kind.

"That message is so Karen," she said. "It's me too, but it's so Karen, and it was perfect."

The business got its name in part because Lipton herself said she's a large woman and has been her whole life, but also because it lends to the Platonic ideal of the old-timey circuses from the turn of the century.

The Fat Lady in the logo a 1900s circus lady, and her designer — against Lipton's better judgment, she said — wanted her to resemble Lipton.

One particular moment that will stick with Lipton forever took place just a few weeks after Fat Lady's opening.

"I was behind the bar within weeks of opening," she said. "A guy was in, 22 or 23 years old, and I was pulling beer for him. He looked at me and up at the logo, at me then the logo, back and forth. He said, 'are you the fat lady of fat lady brewing?' I had mixed reactions, and a million things rushed through my brain in three seconds. I looked at him and said, 'yes, I am.' He leapt across the bar and gave me a hug."

He told Lipton his mom was a big lady too and that he loved what she was doing with the business.

In its four-year run, Fat Lady hosted countless events, performances, and more. It staged productions of "The Laramie Project" and "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," which created such demand that the show got a second wind at the Venice Island Performing Arts & Recreation Center. They hosted cabarets, fashion shows, live music, burlesque, and speakeasy events.

All of which Lipton did not charge a room fee.

"I thought if I sell a few beers, great. If I don't, it's still a fun thing to do," she said.

When Lipton told her team she was closing the business, they weren't shocked, she said.

"I created a stir when for sale signs went up about a year ago," she said.

Fat Lady hosted a staff party on Dec. 30, and Lipton said it was a lovely night.

Still, closing the brewery was a sad and difficult decision, but Lipton is thankful for the community formed around the business.

"I'm so glad I did this," she said. "If I have been able to impart in any way the possibility for goodness and joy that is out there, that's what matters."

Fans and regulars should keep their eyes peels on Fat Lady's social media pages, as Lipton said she will likely be giving away all kinds of goods leftover from the business.