The Canadian Club Heritage Centre on Riverside Dr will close in Windsor at the end of the year.
Canadian Club says it will continue to produce at the Windsor distillery to offer the same high quality whisky it has been making for more than 150 years.
In a news release, it says it wants to refocusĀ it investments to "better cultivate the brand both locally and around the world."
Speaking on AM800's the Morning Drive, Mayor Drew Dilkens says when he received the news Wednesday morning, it was like a "punch in the gut."
"It is a big part of this community's history and I'm doing everything I can to try and see if there is work around here to make sure that building remains active and central to the Canadian Club brand," says Dilkens.
"I can't just sit back and watch this happen because once they walk away, if the brand walks away from the brand centre and goes back to the company that owns the property, you can say goodbye to Canadian Club in respect to that branding, it is gone."
Dilkens says the community identifies that building with the history of Walkerville.
15,000 people visit the building a year.