By: Deborah Johnson Wood
The festivities at the new Founders Brewing began earlier this week as the prelude to the Grand Opening celebration on Saturday. In June, developers began renovating a former truck dock and constructing an 11,000-square-foot production facility at 235 Grandville Avenue, Grand Rapids.
The new 3,000-square-foot taproom features wide-plank flooring and two glass walls that separate the taproom from the production area.
"People watch the beer production from the taproom," says John Green of Elevation Group. Green is one of the developers of the project. "The taproom has the longest bar in Grand Rapids. It was custom built and seats about 25 people."
The new production facility can brew 25,000 barrels a year—in plain talk that's 775,000 gallons or about 350,000 cases—and is designed for expansion to 40,000 barrels as demand increases. That demand is why Founders' founders Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers began looking for a larger facility two years ago.
"The last three years we've been only able to fill about 60 percent of our clients' orders," Stevens said in an interview with Rapid Growth in May 2007.
The east side of the building is glass with two operable overhead glass doors that open to the 120-foot elevated patio. Radiant heat on the patio will warm the area in the cold months to make it more pleasant for smokers; the interior is a smoke-free environment.
The public Grand Opening is Saturday, November 17, from 4 PM to 2 AM, with live music from Founders employees' bands: Oracle, Chance Jones, Total Blam Blams, and Blue Feather.
Source: John Green, Elevation Group; Mike Stevens, Founders Brewing
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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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