Opened in February 2020, Ferndale Project has spent most of its lifetime pivoting and adjusting to the challenges of the pandemic. When in-person drinking and dining was restricted in Michigan, the experimental sister brewery to Eastern Market Brewing Co. invested in a new canning line, transformed its public-facing taproom into a business incubator, and launched a beer delivery service. Now, just over two years later, it’s debuting a new look and celebrating with a “Grand Opening” event on March 12.
“All Ferndale Project has known is the pandemic,” says Dayne Bartscht, managing partner of Eastern Market Brewing Co., in a press release. “We opened as an ‘experimental brewery,’ but little did we know how much that phrase would be tested. Experimentation was forced into our DNA. We learned a lot about ourselves over the past two years and this weekend is a culmination of all that self-discovery…”
The business partnered with Five-Eighths — a Ferndale design studio that has worked on Lovers Only, Michigan and Trumbull Pizza, and more — to create a bold and contemporary taproom space. Danny Jacobs, creative director of Ferndale Project, says in a press release that the design fits with the brewery’s “vision of a loud and fun aesthetic.”
The remodel also includes a dedicated space for an Ashe Coffee cafe (Ferndale Project acquired the local roaster in the spring of 2020). Decked out in blue from floor to ceiling, the café area features a walk-up window and extended outdoor patio as well as an espresso bar with nitro cold brew. Additionally, a bodega on the opposite end of the building features merchandise and reach-in coolers with Ferndale Project and Eastern Market Brewing Co. cans.
The brewery’s Grand Opening event takes place from 8 a.m. to midnight. Ferndale Project will tap a limited-release, barrel-aged Peanut Butter Volcano Stout at noon and serve Ashe Coffee until 3 p.m. “I keep telling the team, this is a Grand Opening and not a Grand Re-Opening,” Bartscht says in a press release. “In many ways, Saturday is a fresh start for us…”
Ferndale Project is located at 567 Livernois Ave. Outside of the grand opening, the taproom will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.
For more information, visit ferndaleproject.com.
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