GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For so many restaurants, location can have a huge impact on their success.
In Beer City U.S.A., there are breweries just about everywhere you go. However, you'd be hard-pressed to find a brewery with a more unique and unusual location than Brewery Vivant in East Hills.
"This space obviously is awesome," said General Manager Marco Ruiz-Wrobbel. "The name that we brought into it signifies the idea of life."
'Vivant' means 'living' in French, which is ironic considering its building on Cherry Street used to be a funeral home — the largest in Grand Rapids for several decades.
The Metcalf family started construction there in 1915. A year later, it became the stable for the 17 large white horses.
They continued to expand, and in 1948, the funeral chapel was finished, right where the pub is today.
"It was a nonreligious space where people came to, you know, bury their their loved ones and say goodbye and bless them at peace," Ruiz-Wrobbel said. "So, it's pretty interesting to have it be filled with glasses and tabs for beer.”
In 2010, that space became the new home of Brewery Vivant.
Owners Jason and Kris Spaulding followed strict standards to keep the integrity — and history — of the building in tact.
“In fact, we've had guests who have come in and said, 'I said goodbye to my great aunt or my grandfather' — or whatever it was — 'in here.' They will sit at the bar and reminisce that the casket was right there where the bar altar is right now. To hear that, it's kind of surreal because you know the history, you understand it, sure, on paper, and and memorizing it. But to hear someone tell you, 'Oh, yeah, I was a little kid.' And like, 'This is where' — whoever it was — 'was laid to rest.' And, 'I said goodbye.' It's a really beautiful, interesting, surreal experience.”
Ruiz-Wrobbel said he appreciates the unique challenge the Spauldings embraced to us that not-so-traditional space to their advantage.
When asked, "What makes a former funeral service home a great spot for a brewery?" Ruiz-Wrobbel responded:
“I think part of it is the storytelling. I think a big part of it is truly the architecture of the space, you know, kind of what we're talking about in regards to the Dutch community that influenced so much of the architecture and manufacturing here. You see really fine woodwork throughout the space, not to mention the awesome stonework that's done...So, just for the aesthetics of it truly, and for the feeling of being in a completely different world for just a moment, I think is what makes it such a good space to be a brewery.”