Inside Founders’ $1 million renovation

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — One of the most well-known breweries in Beer City is getting a big-time upgrade.

Founders Brewery is set to reopen April 1 after a nearly $1 million renovation.

The brewing company has a brand-new kitchen with fryers, burners, an oven, walk-in freezers and coolers.

“We have entrees now instead of just sandwiches,” said Peter Engelhardt, Founders’ executive chef. “If you want to come for dinner and enjoy a nice beer, you’ll be able to do that as well.”

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Engelhardt took over as head chef in September of 2023, previously serving in the same role at other restaurants on the east side of the state.

In the past, Engelhardt said Founders had a “deli” setup with mostly sandwiches on the menu.

“Back in the day, you’d go up, order your food and then come back to pick it up,” Engelhardt said. “The problem was when we had a lot of sandwiches you could only put (some) through, and they take about four minutes. It took our production time too long to get some food out. We were trying to do pizzas, but pizza takes six to eight minutes, so the 10th pizza there is on an hour cook time.”

They can now make burgers and fries, fish and more food infused with their beer. Founders singled out a new bacon bourbon jam burger with fries, salmon and shrimp as key menu items going forward. The brewing company emphasized that certain fan favorites will remain on the menu, including pretzel and beer cheese and popular sandwiches.

“We want to elevate the food so it can match the beer,” Engelhardt said. “Hopefully it can match the beer because they do a great job.”

The new kitchen has a 30-gallon steam kettle as well.

“Whatever we want to cook in there, we’ll be able to do a ton of cheese sauce, barbeque sauce, soups if you want to do that,” he said.

Photos: Crews redo Founders kitchen, renovate taproom

The kitchen is three times larger than their previous space, Engelhardt said. The bigger kitchen will also give Founders more space for its catering operation.

It’s the company’s first major renovation since they moved into their building on Cesar E. Chavez Avenue SW in 2007. Founders closed their kitchen on Feb. 18 but kept serving beer through March 4. The business has been closed all month since then for upgrades.

Beyond the kitchen, several improvements were made to the restaurant. Founders added new lighting fixtures, refined its bar, repainted the ceiling and walls and redid its floors.

The brewing company also built several booths for visitors to enjoy in what’s envisioned as a “quiet area and dining area.”

“We created more of a restaurant feel,” Engelhardt said. “We have the booths, banquettes on this side and lower seating so it feels more restaurant style. In the main area, we’ll have high tops.”

Brand new TVs are in the restaurant as well.

“We don’t want to be a sports bar, but when the Lions go to the playoffs this year, we want to be able to enjoy that this year.” Engelhardt said.

Founders reopens to the public with its new look on Monday. A special public launch party is also planned with live music on April 13 from 11 a.m. to close.

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