Flat Tail didn’t fall flat. It was a place that succeeded in building something meaningful.
Where they are now, and where they could've been...
For a while, it felt like Flat Tail Brewing was everywhere. On fall Saturdays, the place pulsed with Oregon State fans, the kind of energy that spilled out onto the street and made downtown Corvallis feel bigger than it was. Inside, experimental beers flowed freely, cucumber sours, German-style Kölsch, bold IPAs, crafted by a young brewer who seemed to be pushing boundaries in a town not yet fully defined by craft beer.
Flat Tail wasn’t just a place to grab a drink. It became part of Corvallis life, a spot where students, locals, and visitors all seemed to overlap. For a time, it felt like one of those places that would always be there.
And then it wasn’t.
When Flat Tail closed its doors in 2020, most people assumed they understood why. It was an easy explanation. The pandemic had upended restaurants and breweries across the country, margins were getting tighter, and competition had grown. Corvallis, like everywhere else, was changing. It made sense to file Flat Tail away as another casualty of timing and circumstance. But that version of the story, the one most people carried with them, only scratched the surface of what had actually been happening behind the scenes.
Flat Tail had started a decade earlier, in 2010, built by a small group of partners that included Ian Duncan and Tonya Duncan, both already established in Corvallis’ restaurant scene, and a young, talented, driven brewer named Dave Marliave. The formula worked almost immediately. The brewery earned recognition at the Great American Beer Festival, the beers won many awards, and they built a loyal following. It was creative, a little unconventional, and local. From the outside, it looked like a success story, one of those rare businesses that manages to find both identity and momentum at the same time.
But inside the business, things didn’t add up. Even as Flat Tail grew in reputation and visibility, there was a persistent problem that never quite made sense… there was never any money left over. The brewery was busy, the beer was winning awards, and the brand was strong, yet financially it always seemed to be treading water. For years, that disconnect lingered without a clear explanation, something felt but not fully understood.
In 2019, the unraveling of Flat Tail Brewing didn’t begin with a balance sheet, it started with a conversation. While working in the brewery, Dave Marliave was pulled aside by co-owner Iain Duncan, who told him, almost casually, that the business owed more than $100,000 in back taxes. The moment didn’t make sense. Flat Tail was busy, the beer was winning awards, and nothing about the day-to-day operation suggested that kind of financial hole.
When Marliave pressed for details, Iain had few answers, instead pointing to Tonya Duncan, who had managed the company’s books, payroll, and finances from the very beginning. But the promised information never came. What followed was a series of tense conversations and a meeting with all partners, where the same questions, when, why, how much, were met with vague responses and claims that the business simply wasn’t profitable, despite reports suggesting otherwise.
The shift was abrupt, and to Marliave, deeply unsettling. Trust began to erode quickly, especially as requests for financial records were delayed, incomplete, or routed through the Duncans’ separate company, Duncan Culinary Ventures. Unable to reconcile the numbers himself, Marliave hired a lawyer and started digging through years of receipts and records, searching for an explanation that never quite added up.
By April, with the situation deteriorating and the Duncans largely absent, the remaining partners pushed for their resignation, marking the moment when suspicion fully replaced uncertainty, and the reality of what had been happening began to set in.
The truth didn’t come out until much later, and when it did, it reshaped the entire narrative. A lawsuit revealed that Flat Tail’s financial struggles were not simply the result of a difficult industry or bad timing, but were tied to fraud, embezzlement, and deep financial mismanagement within the ownership structure.
According to court findings, money had been mishandled in ways that undermined the business from within, something Marliave has said he was largely unaware of while focused on brewing and operations.
The legal battle that followed Flat Tail’s collapse pulled back the curtain on what had been happening behind the scenes for years. In court, evidence showed that large sums of company money had been diverted and misused by Duncan Culinary Ventures, Iain and Tonya Duncan, with funds allegedly routed through separate accounts and used for personal expenses rather than business operations.
Financial records presented during the case revealed a pattern of unauthorized transfers, missing funds, and bookkeeping practices that masked the true state of the company’s finances, making it appear far healthier than it actually was. After a multi-day trial, a jury ultimately sided with Marliave and other plaintiffs, awarding more than $500,000 in damages, an acknowledgment of the financial harm caused by the fraud.
It wasn’t just a guilty verdict, it was hard fought form of validation… and a confirmation. By the time everything came to light, there was little left to save.
In the years since, the people behind Flat Tail have moved on, each in their own direction. Marliave stayed close to what he knew, and last was heard continuing his work in the craft beer industry. After selling off Flat Tail’s equipment, he shifted into consulting and brewing roles, applying the experience… both the successes and the setbacks. He remains part of Oregon’s craft beer landscape with Newspring Brewing in Junction City, still building, still brewing, but with the perspective that only comes from having seen how quickly things can unravel.
Ian and Tonya Duncan, who once owned several recognizable Corvallis establishments, including Le Bistro, Aqua Seafood Restaurant & Bar, and Terzo (all of which have since closed), are now connected to Corvallis Club, where Ian serves as head chef and Tonya works as a project manager. Yes, Corvallis Club has an accounting role also listed in their staff directory. Ian and Tonya Duncan are not listed in that role.
We reached out to Corvallis Club for comment, but did not receive one.
https://www.corvallisclub.com/contact/
Flat Tail didn’t fall flat. It was a place that succeeded in building something meaningful here. For many in town, it remains a memory tied to a specific moment, experimental beers, and a sense that something new was happening in town.
It marks the end of what was once a great local success story. As Rumi wrote, “Greed makes a man foolish, and makes him an easy prey for death.” In this case, it was that same greed that ultimately brought a bad end to a good story.
Do you have a story for The Inquirer? Email: editor@corvallisnow.com
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