Founder's Brewery Detroit CLOSED PERMANENTLY Today

**casscorridor65** · May-01-23, 04:44 PM

Founder's Brewery permanently closed today according to my friend who is a bartender there. They are normally closed Mondays, but he was told by his boss that everyone was let go today. No details yet on the buyer.

**Rocket** · May-01-23, 05:53 PM

Originally Posted by casscorridor65

Founder's Brewery permanently closed today according to my friend who is a bartender there. They are normally closed Mondays, but he was told by his boss that everyone was let go today. No details yet on the buyer.

Is it permanently closed, or is there a buyer?

**Danny** · May-01-23, 06:36 PM

Another Microbrewery bites the dust. Due to racial problems. That owner known better not a create a toxic environment for its co-workers. Especially in a city that is 77 percent black.

**casscorridor65** · May-01-23, 10:30 PM

Owner said F*** it hours after another racial complaint...

Founders Brewing abruptly closes Detroit taproom for good | Detroit Metro Times

**southen** · May-02-23, 07:14 AM

"Covid"

**Henry Whalley** · May-02-23, 08:16 AM

Originally Posted by casscorridor65

Owner said F*** it hours after another racial complaint...

IMHO poor management and brain-dead owner. Employees who were racist or sexist should have been fired.

**casscorridor65** · May-02-23, 08:49 AM

Who knows? The other side of that story "could be" that someone played the race card complaint looking for a payday. Once the company got that label from the last victim [[who got a payout) it could have inspired some disgruntled employee to try it again, no matter what the company did to change themselves. I guess it will come out in court. No one knows at this point...

Originally Posted by Henry Whalley

IMHO poor management and brain-dead owner. Employees who were racist or sexist should have been fired.

**softailrider** · May-02-23, 08:52 AM

Originally Posted by casscorridor65

Who knows? The other side of that story "could be" that someone played the race card complaint looking for a payday. Once the company got that label from the last victim [[who got a payout) it could have inspired some disgruntled employee to try it again, no matter what the company did to change themselves. I guess it will come out in court. No one knows at this point...

Or maybe the craft beer business is getting played out.

**Richard** · May-02-23, 09:18 AM

Originally Posted by softailrider

Or maybe the craft beer business is getting played out.

I think it is more about bandwagons,here 20 opened 4 are left,remember sports bars,all rage with 30 TVs,everybody got into them now they faded away and some rebranded into Social Clubs,same as a sports bar just a fancy name.

Topless bars are not so seedy if you call them gentleman’s clubs.

Now it is bars disguised as dog parks.

Taco craze with one on every corner.

Funny all the fads the pandemic created,burn pits,exercise equipment,back yard pizza ovens,smokers,home brewing,all that stuff is now sitting out by the curb waiting for the scrap man to pick up.

Even though the craft brewery kick is fading fast,I have 3 customers building them out spending over $500k to get into it.

Restaurant business has always been a 20% survival rate and out of those the majority that last the longest are comfort food,no frills.

**kuuma** · May-02-23, 10:34 AM

Lots of speculation circulating since they're pinning the closure on Covid, but the reality is that Founders' company culture stayed toxic after the first racism settlement years ago. don't wanna out my sources but their management team had been, half-heartedly, looking for a way to rebrand themselves to Detroiters who were wary to return after the very public 2019 episode. In the end little was done besides promote a token black manager, and the stigma and workplace culture both lived on.

I would NOT look at Founders as any wider indication of the health of Detroit's restaurant scene.

But if your question is "is craft brewery fading?" the answer is of course no, there are dozens of great microbrews in and near Detroit, including multiple bar-restaurants with good beer selections within walking distance of the late Founders Detroit. I expect another burgeoning MI brewery to pick the space up, my hope would be for Witches Hat of South Lyon, or New Holland of Holland/GR to move into Detroit.

**Lowell** · May-02-23, 10:44 AM

Wouldn't it be nice if the Cass Corridor Food Co-op would reopen on the site!

**casscorridor65** · May-02-23, 03:02 PM

Wow! A blast from the past! I remember going there. It was a needed service back then considering who lived in the neighborhood [[mostly lower income/homeless). They used to give away canned hams away at Christmas. Good times!

Originally Posted by Lowell

Wouldn't it be nice if the Cass Corridor Food Co-op would reopen on the site!

**MikeM** · May-02-23, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by casscorridor65

Who knows? The other side of that story "could be" that someone played the race card complaint looking for a payday. Once the company got that label from the last victim [[who got a payout) it could have inspired some disgruntled employee to try it again, no matter what the company did to change themselves. I guess it will come out in court. No one knows at this point...

I would think the law firm would see through any frivolous claim before going through the effort of filing a lawsuit.

Maybe they wanted to bail out before city council forced them to accept cash payments?

**softailrider** · May-02-23, 05:51 PM

Originally Posted by MikeM

I would think the law firm would see through any frivolous claim before going through the effort of filing a lawsuit.

Maybe they wanted to bail out before city council forced them to accept cash payments?

If that business was showing a profit, it wouldn't have closed. Sounds like they were running a bar without many customers. How long is that supposed to last?

**Kathleen** · May-02-23, 08:56 PM

We weren't impressed the first and only time we went there. Poor service. Lackluster food. Not good enough to bring us back for a second try, especially with so many other better options out there!

**K-slice** · May-02-23, 09:18 PM

Seems like a number of things lead to this unfortunate closure and another lawsuit was the final nail in the coffin, frivolous or not.

I can't imagine they were very busy on weekdays/nights with the location being as isolated as it is. Even for games most people who are hanging out before or after come from downtown.

They moved in right around the time that the original District Detroit announcements were made. Perhaps they were banking on Ilitch making good on the promising to bring residential units and more to the Cass Park area. Had that come to fruition, or had they opened further north in the more densely populated neighborhoods around Wayne State perhaps they would still be in business.

Certainly a loss for the city

**casscorridor65** · May-02-23, 10:09 PM

I totally agree. I've been there 5 to 10 times, live not too far from there, but was never impressed. As much as I tried, there wasn't one beer that I could honestly say I enjoyed. I know it's just a personal opinion, but I would much rather have Atwater or bells. But to each their own. I also agree that the food was nothing special. I'm kind of with most of the people here in that it won't be that much of a love lost.

Originally Posted by Kathleen

We weren't impressed the first and only time we went there. Poor service. Lackluster food. Not good enough to bring us back for a second try, especially with so many other better options out there!

**Danny** · May-03-23, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by Kathleen

We weren't impressed the first and only time we went there. Poor service. Lackluster food. Not good enough to bring us back for a second try, especially with so many other better options out there!

Well, that racist owner just wasted thousands of dollars and focus what's left of the other location at some other area where the Klan used to gather.

**Danny** · May-03-23, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by Lowell

Wouldn't it be nice if the Cass Corridor Food Co-op would reopen on the site!

That will answer the food desert problem.

**Rocket** · May-03-23, 04:51 PM

Originally Posted by Danny

That will answer the food desert problem.

One idea that might work is a grocery store with no windows that ONLY does pre-order.

As in, you order everything you want online, the employees pick and bag it for you, and when you go to pick it up, your bags get pushed out to you through a bulletproof package receiver like the ones the post office has for accepting your packages.

That not only stops all of the theft, but you'd be able to get much better employees. The better managers and such usually won't work at the Detroit locations.

The idea of a grocery store or a pharmacy where people can freely walk the isles is no longer workable here.

**Richard** · May-03-23, 05:17 PM

Originally Posted by Kathleen

We weren't impressed the first and only time we went there. Poor service. Lackluster food. Not good enough to bring us back for a second try, especially with so many other better options out there!

As a rule most of the breweries down here do not do food,they have a food truck in the parking lot,they are not known for their food,as a brewery they concentrate on the craft beer thing.

**Zacha341** · May-03-23, 07:00 PM

^ Then remove the food menu and get to the good stuff!

**softailrider** · May-03-23, 08:56 PM

Originally Posted by Rocket

One idea that might work is a grocery store with no windows that ONLY does pre-order.

As in, you order everything you want online, the employees pick and bag it for you, and when you go to pick it up, your bags get pushed out to you through a bulletproof package receiver like the ones the post office has for accepting your packages.

That not only stops all of the theft, but you'd be able to get much better employees. The better managers and such usually won't work at the Detroit locations.

The idea of a grocery store or a pharmacy where people can freely walk the isles is no longer workable here.

Maybe somebody can re-open the Tom Boy. There are no worries about dead hookers in the dumpster anymore, all the hookers left the area.

**Zacha341** · May-04-23, 04:04 AM

^ Right! Recall when the neon sign on the front was so worn it just showed Tomb and was called 'The Tomb' up thru when it closed!

**Gistok** · May-04-23, 04:47 AM

Originally Posted by Zacha341

^ Right! Recall when the neon sign on the front was so worn it just showed Tomb and was called 'The Tomb' up thru when it closed!

Oh don't get me started about business signage outage.

Nothing prepares one for driving up Northwestern Hwy in Southfield 30 years ago, and coming upon a BENNIGAN'S Restaurant at night... with the BEN not lit up...