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Photo by Dan DuChene
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Matt and Renee Greff, owners of the Corner Brewery, sit next to one of the tanks in their new brewery on Forest Street.
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A long-time abandoned building on the corner of Forest and Norris near Ypsilanti's Historic East-Side will soon be the home of the Corner Brewery.
For the first time, the Arbor Brewing Co. can distribute beer around the state from this location.
"We're really interested in distribution," said Rene Greff, the Corner Brewery's owner. "Opening a microbrewery will let us do what we've always wanted to do."
In 1995, Mrs. Greff and her husband Matt opened the Arbor Brewing Co. in downtown Ann Arbor. The beer-pub, owned by Mr. Greff, can only sell its home brew in the pub, and may not distribute. With the opening of the Corner Brewery, distribution is now possible.
The couple has been living in Ypsilanti since 1991, the same year Mr. Greff discovered his interest in making beer.
"He fell in love in love with home-brewing the same time he got disillusioned with corporate life," Mrs. Greff said.
Mr. Greff was working as a healthcare data analyst when he came across a book about home brewing and purchased it. "I went in to my office, shut the door and read it from cover to cover," Mr. Greff said. "I wanted to make the beers I liked in Germany."
It was while studying abroad in Germany at the age of 20; Mr. Greff said he fell in love with beer.
Mr. Greff said it was the "coolest moment" when he realized what he was doing for a living. "I couldn't believe people were paying money to drink the beer I was making in my basement a year before," he said.
Mrs. Greff plans to have the brewery open by June 1. The couple has already started brewing for the occasion.
"This is not a restaurant," Mrs. Greff said. She said they will serve "gourmet snacks" along with home-made breads from the Riverside Bakery, as well as home-made dips, bratwursts and veggie brats. "You can't have a beer-garden without brats," she said.
The brewery features a fully-enclosed beer garden accessible from the main pub-area. A 12" foot deck is in the works, as well as an awning, heaters and lights. The beer-garden will also serve as the smoking area because it won't be allowed inside the building.
An over-sized bar wraps around two walls of the pub-area, with various styles of eclectic furniture filling the rest of the room. Mrs. Greff said all of the furniture was purchased resale from the Treasure Mart in Ann Arbor.
Unlike the brew-pub in Ann Arbor, the only thing on tap at the brewery is beer made in-house.
Mrs. Greff describes the room between the pub-area and the brewery as a "casual lounge."
"We're going to let it evolve," said Mrs. Greff about the lounge. She plans to put couches and other types of stuffed furniture in the room. However, she also plans on renting it out as a banquet-hall if there is a market for it.
"We're really trying to make this a family-friendly establishment," Mrs. Greff said.
The brewery will be open 11a.m.-11p.m. Monday thru Saturday. It closes at 11 p.m. Sunday as well, but it can't open before noon.
"Students make up about 20 percent of our business at the brew-pub," Mrs. Greff said. "I'm imagining it will be the same here."
The rest of the patrons, Mrs. Greff said, consist of young families, young professionals, hippies and locals. "People brought together by the love of beer," she said.
Aside from her partnership with the Riverside Bakery, Mrs. Greff has also been working with Aubrey's to have pizza delivered straight to the brewery. In exchange, Arbor Brewing Co. beer will be on tap at Aubrey's. The couple's beer will also be on tap at Kate's, the Stick and Side Tracks.
"Things have gone much easier than expected," Mrs. Greff said. "I didn't expect the amazing, incredible amount of community involvement and support.
"Some people think Ypsilanti is the ghetto of Ann Arbor. It's not. In a lot of ways, it's better to open a brewery here."
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