Something's brewing at 925 Cherry St. SE -- or, should be by fall.
Locus Development has partnered with Jason Spaulding, co-founder of New Holland Brewing Co., on a $3 million project that will bring a new micro brewery and other shops to a black hole in the otherwise vibrant Cherry Street business district.
View full sizeCourtesy Locus Development/Cornerstone ArchitectsThis rendering shows the view from Lake Drive of Locus Development's planned redevelopment of the former Spectrum Health childcare site. The project would be anchored by Brewery Vivant. If all goes according to plan, Spaulding will open Brewery Vivant by next fall in a former funeral home chapel and neighboring repair shop that most recently served as a Spectrum Health childcare center.
"When this property came available I had already written my business plan and it fit this setting to a T," Spaulding said. The brewery's specialty will be Belgian and French-style beers that combine unique strains of yeast with hops, grains, spices and fruits. Spaulding also expects to secure a wine-making license for small batches of wine.The name reflects those roots with vivant meaning lively or alive in French. "We want to evoke living the good life by enjoying good beer," Spaulding said. Locus will renovate a house on the property to lease to other as-yet unsigned tenants. It also plans two new commercial buildings on the eastern and western ends of the site's Cherry Street frontage. Locus partners John Green and Andy Winkel have the property under contract and hope to close the deal soon. They will be applying for state and federal historic tax credits along with Michigan business tax credits to help facilitate construction financing.
"This is kind of the heart of the East Hills neighborhood and we want it to be a good community-feel project," Green said. They hope to begin construction on the brewery portion of the project in the spring.
Brewery Vivant will include a 140-seat taproom and restaurant inside the chapel portion of the building.
A partially covered outdoor beer garden and piazza will face Cherry Street. A barrel-roofed building that was once a repair shop will house the brewery where Spaulding hopes will produce up to 5,000 barrels of beer a year. By comparison Grand Rapids' largest brewery, Founders Brewing Co., produces around 30,000 barrels a year. "We're not striving to be a larger brewery," Spaulding said. "We want to be neighborhood brewery and not grow much beyond that."
Spaulding expects to hire up to 50 employees within the brewery's first year. He plans to emphasize local ingredients in the brews and on the restaurant menu when possible.
Since selling his shares in New Holland two years ago Spaulding attended a brewing school in Munich, Germany to help him hone his abilities. He's also been developing new recipes. A trial run of a brew he dubbed Zaison was served at Ann Arbor's Zingerman's Roadhouse, where Spaulding had been serving as bar manager.
