Business & Tech

Michigan Brewing Company Construction Slated to Begin in May

General manager/brewer Bill Tadrick said business waiting on architects.

A Michigan Brewing Company official said Tuesday that they hope to begin construction in May, and are only waiting on the architect to finish plans for construction of the new brewery at the old Fenton fire hall.

"We've done everything we can do. There is no hold up on our end. We are ready to go," General manager/brewer Bill Tadrick said. "They assured us we'd have the plans by the end of the month."

The hold up has been Michigan Brewing Company's architects, Tadrick said Tuesday at the Fenton Downtown Development Authority meeting. He said the group is waiting for the architect, Ron & Roman out of Birmingham, to finish plans.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Tadrick said he visited with the owners of two new Ron & Roman designed restaurants, in Ferndale and Bloomfield, and they told him "prepare to get angry as they are very busy." But Tadrick said they would also end up "very happy with the product," but the company is not good at making deadlines.

"Both restaurants have similar plans to the fire hall, an old structure with very little done to the interior, yet very elegant," Tadrick said.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Plans included an open kitchen, glass doors on the front of the building that would open when its warm and a deck in the back of the building that would include outdoor seating.

Tadrick said once the plans are received, officials can move forward with the builders in three to four weeks and construction is expected to start May 1. He said his builders, Bren-Mar Construction of Fenton, told him construction would take 12 to 16 weeks and he hopes to have the restaurant and tavern open in August.

Fenton DDA Chairman Craig Schmidt said all parties involved met last week and discussed what everyone had to do to get the construction process moving and everyone was on the same page.

Mayor Sue Osborn asked if Michigan Brewing Company officials had funding secured and Tadrick said they had the majority of $1.5 to $2 million ready to go for the project. He added that he won't know final numbers until the plans are complete and officials can talk with the builders.

Tadrick said they won't complete the liquor license process until they are closer to opening.

After the Fenton DDA and Michigan Brewing Company , Michigan Brewing Company President Bobby Mason in the fall of 2011, looking for completion by July of 2012.

The deal included a timeline that construction was required to be completed by June 30. DDA Director Michael Burns said that’s likely something that will have to be pushed back.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here