Siblings to convert former Mexican cafe into brewpub
By Garret Ellison
The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — There’s a lot of work to finish before Harmony Hall opens in Grand Rapids next year, but to get an idea of what the new brewpub will look and feel like inside, think Aztec Temple meets Oktoberfest.
On the ground floor of what used to be Rauser Quality Sausages, and later, Little Mexico Café, a wooden bar salvaged from the Herkimer Hotel in Heartside sits covered in sawdust amid a pile of old custom-carved wooden log chairs.
On the walls and center columns, décor reminiscent of ancient Mexico crawls up the perimeter — a throwback to the West Side icon, which closed in 2013 after the owners went bankrupt and lost the building to the bank.
Barry, Jackson and Heather Van Dyke, three siblings converting the building into a brewpub, told The Grand Rapids Press they love the whimsical décor — much of it done in the early 1970s by artist Bill Bowsema — too much to rip it all down.
“It’s definitely part of the building’s history,” said Barry Van Dyke. “It kind of gave us an idea on how to do the upstairs. We love the magical feel of this room, so we’ll try to carry that almost mystical feeling throughout the upstairs, too.”
The trio behind Harmony Brewing Co. in Eastown and Bear Manor property management is busy these days with the biggest project they’ve ever tackled: Converting a three-story, 11,900-square-foot historic sausage factory-turned ethnic restaurant into an anchor of the West Side’s Stockbridge Business District.
Their $1.5 million effort got a boost last week, when the state announced an $89,574 Community Revitalization Program performance-based grant for the project. The state incentive, a replacement economic development tool for the former Brownfield and historic tax credit programs, follows city help as well.
In July, the Grand Rapids City Commission approved $187,887 in real property and $209,079 in personal property tax breaks for Harmony Hall under the industrial facilities abatement program.
The end result, the Van Dykes pledge, is a multi-story, 300-seat “wonderland of beer” that will help alleviate increasing demand on their Eastown brewpub while returning sausage-making to a 106-year-old building that once produced as much as 3,500-pounds of sausage a day.
“This project is stressful, but I’d say so far it’s not quite as terrifying” as opening Harmony in 2012, said Heather Van Dyke-Titus.
Downstairs, in what they used to call the “monster room” when the Van Dykes would eat at Little Mexico, the plan is for an entrance lounge and retail area ringed on the north and east by 6,000 square feet of beer, sausage and bread making space.
Upstairs, with the help of Rockford Construction, the trio have busted through the north wall and built an outdoor deck with space for 35 seats adjoining a second-floor bar that will serve what’s planned as German-style beer hall area.
The southeast corner, both first and second floor walls are being replaced with glass. The ground floor will be the brewing space, where passerby will be able to see a 10-barrel system with five large fermentation tanks. The second floor, where the bulk of the seating will be, will feature guest space facing downtown behind garage-style retractable doors.
The siblings traveled to Germany this summer for inspiration. They hope to pay as much homage as possible to the site history. Constructed in 1908, the west portion of the Bavarian-style building was once the Rauser Quality Sausage Co., a business started by John G. Rauser in 1891.
The original sausage factory portion of the building is easily distinguishable by the exposed brick, which “gives it almost a ruined castle-type feel.” Much of the rest of the structure was rebuilt in 2010 after a devastating fire.
Harmony Hall’s menu is still being finalized, but they said to expect something multi-cultural. Chorizo sausage, for example, is expected to be made.
As for the beer, expect a “robust” 30-tap selection that will include some barrel-aged and cask ales, and — it’s a German-style hall on the West Side after all — some lagers.
The three siblings are keen on Bridge Street, which they likened in terms of escalating energy and investment, to Wealthy Street a decade ago. They are stoked about the plans for New Holland Brewing Co. to anchor a newly-announced $17 million mixed-use development a few blocks east, as well as the upcoming Black Heron restaurant and “all the spots in between.”
“It’s been the result of a lot of grassroots efforts behind the scenes,” said Barry Van Dyke. “At some point it reaches a critical mass and starts taking off.”
Harmony Hall is expected to open sometime in the spring.
