A popular craft brewery that has made a name for itself on both sides of the border remains closed amid a permit dispute with city officials in Tijuana and the governor of Baja California.

The city closed Cervecería Insurgente on Oct. 5 after the brewery, which sells its craft beers throughout California and Mexico, faced public criticism from Baja’s newly elected governor before he took office.

Jaime Bonilla complained in September to a team of incoming state public safety officials that noise from the brewery was bothering neighbors and that the business did not have proper city permits, something he said was an example of the widespread corruption of the outgoing city and state government.

At the time, both branches of government were controlled by the National Action Party or PAN, an opposing political party that lost control of the state for the first time in 30 years during Baja California elections last June. Bonilla’s Morena political party won most races, picking up mayors’ seats, City Council seats, legislative posts and the governorship.


Though he did not mention it at the September meeting, Bonilla’s brother, Alberto Bonilla, runs a business and lives in a residence located across the street from the brewery, according to Alberto’s business card and Gov. Bonilla himself.

Bonilla told the Union-Tribune on Wednesday that the brewery’s permits were not valid.

Asked if it was his brother who complained about noise from the brewery, Bonilla responded: “No, my brother didn’t complain. I complained.”

The co-owner of the brewery, Ivan Morales, said the business has always operated with proper permits and followed city regulations, stressing that it wasn’t a state issue. He said the day the city shut down his business was the first he ever heard about any noise complaints or problems with the neighbors.


Cervecería Insurgente — commonly known as Insurgente — opened its doors on Juan Cordero Boulevard in Tijuana’s Zona Rio business district in 2014.

The brewery was founded by 32-year-old Ivan Morales and his 37-year-old brother Damian who started home brewing in their mother’s Chula Vista kitchen in 2010.

In 2011, the Morales brothers took their prize money from the 2011 Ensenada Brew Festival — where their La Lupulosa IPA won first place — and expanded operations to their backyard in Tijuana.

Since then, they’ve grown their cross-border business to several locations and international recognition, winning awards across Mexico and Baja California and California.


The brothers now ship their Insurgentes craft beers and IPAs around the world. They have also collaborated on beers with Stone, Modern Times, Green Flash and other big-name brands.

On Oct. 5, Tijuana city inspectors, along with the fire department posted a closure notice on the brewery’s doors, stating the business lacked proper permits — a claim the business disputes.

“The brewery has every single permit required for operation,” Ivan Morales said Tuesday.

Until this week, both authorities and the owners of the brewery have been reluctant to talk about why the brewery was closed.


On Wednesday, after an event where California and Baja California governors pledged cross-border cooperation, Bonilla addressed the issue.

“I’m not going to have an illegal brewery operating in front of residences and in a commercial and residential zone. It’s not appropriate,” Bonilla said.

The owners of Insurgentes said in a statement released last month that they’ve always operated within city regulations.

“At Insurgente we intend to remain one of the most emblematic craft breweries in Mexico. Having satisfactorily complied with the city government’s requests, we are awaiting their approval to resume production of our beer as there is no apparent reason for the continuation of our closure,” their statement said.


Ivan Morales said the process has been particularly frustrating because he and his brother were born in Tijuana and have made their home there.

“For us, it’s always been, right from the start about giving something back to the city, which we’ve always called home, creating something new that didn’t exist here at the time,” he said.

Bonilla did not officially take office until Nov. 1, but he began holding weekly closed-door public safety meetings shortly after winning the election in June. After one October meeting, he posted a video to social media with what he said was a recap of what was discussed behind closed doors.

Included in the discussion of the growing violence and insecurity across the state of Baja California was the issue of Insurgente’s city permits, he said.


He said the Zona Río brewery was “finished” because the previous government had allowed it to operate with “an absurd lack of permits.”

“There will be no influence over having a business that is not legal. It’s that simple. It’s nothing personal, but this is precisely what annoys the people,” Bonilla said in the video.

Morales has so far been hesitant to speak with the media about the brewery’s closure.

He spoke to the Union-Tribune Tuesday and Wednesday, saying the process has been draining and infuriating.


Though he declined to comment on Bonilla’s statements about his brewery, he stressed Insurgente had complied with all the city government’s requests and said it was an issue with the municipal government, not the state.

He said he was awaiting city approval to resume production, while leaning on other breweries to help keep his business afloat.

“The city government has said they want to support craft beer; this being one of the growing industries in the city and the state,” said Morales. “It makes no sense that they’re taking such a hostile stance against us and keeping us shut down after we’ve complied with everything they’ve requested.”

The mayor of Tijuana and governor of Baja California are closely aligned politically; both are from the same Morena political party which beat out the PAN in June. They often appear at events together and are both ardent supporters of Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who founded their political party.


A spokesman for Tijuana mayor Arturo González initially said city staff would be made available to answer any questions about Insurgente’s permits, and any possible noise complaints, but then did not respond to follow-up requests to schedule the interview Tuesday. Questions posed Wednesday to city staff about why the brewery was closed were not answered.

Bonilla first mentioned the brewery at a Sept. 12 meeting that was recorded and posted to his Facebook page. That meeting, also before he officially took office, was with the incoming State Attorney General Juan Guillermo Ruiz Hernández and other public safety officials and lawyers.

During the meeting, aimed at addressing the rising violence in Baja California, Bonilla said he wanted to give a simple example about the corruption of the outgoing state administration and mentioned the Zona Río brewery.

“It bothers people a lot. People got upset because the noise is very strong. It’s outdoors,” said Bonilla. “There is a complaint and it seems good to me because, well, the authority rests with the new government because the current authorities failed.”


Bonilla said in the video that he directed the incoming state government to investigate the business.

“It turns out this this company has no permits ... " Bonilla said at the meeting, rattling off the types of permits that should be on record for the brewery, like land-use permits and health inspections. “Nothing exists for this business.”

The governor-elect added that he spoke with city authorities, asking them how the brewery was operating if it didn’t have any permits and told them to close it.

“Right in front of this business is a hospital; they didn’t complain. We have to go to this hospital for them to complain, but then we find out that the hospital also doesn’t have any permits,” said Bonilla in the video, laughing.


“This is the great problem that we have in this state ... It’s a consequence of the impunity that exists. Whether the information exists, the authorities know that there are no permits, but they don’t care,” Bonilla added.

Morales said last summer the brewery held a series of outdoor events that were very popular, but he didn’t believe the brewery was any louder than other bars in the neighborhood.

“We’re surrounded by bars and karoke places. It’s not Revolución, but it’s not like we’re the only bar there,” said Morales, adding the area is in a commercial zone, not residential.

He said the closure was the very first he heard about any noise complaints, which are typically handled by the city with a notification and then possibly an inspection and fines, not a complete shutdown.


Meanwhile the Morales brothers have been asking other breweries to help produce their popular craft beers. They’ve been running out of stock and unable to make seasonal favorites like their Santa’s Red holiday beer.

“We can’t control the timeline since we aren’t operating the brewery,” he said.

Morales said the business employs more than 30 people whose jobs hang in the balance.

“Those are people whose jobs are in jeopardy as well in all of this,” he said.


When the brothers started out, they decided to name their business Insurgente because they knew they would be taking on powerful interests in Baja California, but those interests were related to other businesses who controlled the beer market in Mexico about a decade ago, not the state governor.

“We were insurgentes fighting against the tyranny of flavorless beer,” said Morales, who added he and his brother plan to keep fighting City Hall for the right to re-open their brewery.

Bonilla indicated Wednesday they likely face an uphill battle.

“Any permits they do have were awarded under a corrupt government,” Bonilla said.


Asked whether or not they could correct any possible issues with their prior permits or if they had any recourse to reopen, Bonilla responded “Not there.”

They would have to find a new location, Bonilla said.

“I’m sorry, but this is a different state government and we’re doing things a little differently than the prior one,” he said.