Founders Brewing Company closed...for 2 whole weeks

It's official: Founders Brewing Company has shuttered its taproom doors… at least for a little while. No, this isn't a harkening back to the near-bankruptcy levels that Founders famously (or infamously?) operated at during its early days--it's another stage of the brewery's seemingly ever-expanding presence in Grand Rapids. After investing $26 million into its most recent project, Founders has made sure that its patrons understand that the taproom will be closed starting Tuesday (that's today!) all the way until September 16. That's when the rest of the changes to the taproom--including a spacious beer garden complete with its own bar and at least one fireplace--will be finalized.

I've imagined that many people--both local and from other places in the world--will be clamoring for the taproom while the public is barred from entering. I know at least one person who has already expressed his depression over the temporary closure. He's one of my best friends and he's on a one-month vacation from his position with the Peace Corps in Senegal. During half of his month here in the U.S., Founders will be closed. The man is a huge fan and I'm doing my best to make sure that he gets his fix, but there's nothing enjoying a glass of Dirty Bastard or Red's Rye straight from the source. Depending on how well he maintains his composure, he could end up leading a revolt to break in, manning the taps in his manic state for all those who have a love for Founders and craft beer that is equal to his. Watch out, Founders--there are quite a few of us!

A rendering as imagined from Grandville Avenue | Courtesy of Founders Brewing Co.

As in many other situations, this is an instance where patience is most certainly a virtue. If you haven't seen the renderings, you need to right now. Seriously. Look at them. I've been drooling over them for months--since they were released in April--and so has my friend in the Peace Corps, even though he's been thousands of miles away the entire time. The beautifully landscaped garden! The second level! Those ghost people! Founders is going to be completely different in less than two weeks, but the heart of it will still be there and that heart is what makes Founders so great. The ability for myself and many others, in Michigan and elsewhere, to feel solidarity with the company's spirit is what has turned some of the best beer that is poured in Grand Rapids into some of the best beer that is poured in the entire world.

The private rental space and educational facility, complete with second-floor balcony | Courtesy of Founders Brewing Co.

Interestingly, the company has plans to expand its share of the international craft beer market. Even though the CEO of Founders said that its beer has been available through a Danish wholesaler in Europe for the past five years, the company has not focused much on its game outside of the U.S. until now. The international beer market should be ready for the storming of its beaches as Founders rolls up on the shores of Sweden, Denmark, England, Canada, Australia, and Brazil in the near future, if it hasn't already. Way to represent Michigan on the international level, Founders.

What's the Value of ArtPrize?

With ArtPrize less than two months away, the city is getting a makeover. Construction seems to be pervasive, blocking Cherry from being used and making my bike rides down the hill on Fulton a little more dangerous with cones and drivers who already don't know how to interact with two-wheeled vehicles. I don't want to admit it, but a lot of that construction is necessary, especially if we want to look good to the world during our annual flagship event.

That's right, Grand Rapids needs to put on its pretty face for the world. With artists from 45 states and 47 nations submitting their works for the judgment of whomever can download a smartphone app, eyes from everywhere will be watching. But, more importantly, did you know that Time named ArtPrize one of the five events that you shouldn't miss in 2013? No, this is not just the five events in Michigan that you shouldn't miss. It's not even the five events in the U.S. that you shouldn't miss. It's accounting for the entire world. Can you believe that? I mean, it's an incredible event--truly--but is it really one of the top five festivities in the world?

The prize money in pie-chart form, courtesy of ArtPrize.org

Thinking about past incarnations of the event, I'd say no. It's inspiring and emotional and aesthetically pleasing and democratic (supposedly), but is it one of the most monumental things I've participated in? Again, I'd say no. I feel like riding a bike down any hill in Grand  Rapids is more exhilarating than ArtPrize. But the fact of the matter is that tourists don't come into a secondary city to ride a bike down a hill. They will, on the other hand, come for art--and they do. In droves. According to estimates, approximately 400,000 people descended on Grand Rapids during the two-and-a-half weeks of ArtPrize last year. My friends and I lovingly call these people "shoobies"--yes, this is a nostalgic nod to a cartoon from our childhood. If you know it, you know it; if you don't, you don't.

When the shoobies arrive, the sidewalks swell with bodies. Traffic becomes a nightmare and driving directly through downtown is suddenly a mistake only oblivious fools make. Areas of the city that are rarely touched are transformed into venues, attracting citizens of the world to areas that citizens of the city have never been to. But even we like to go downtown during the event and walk around. Our families come into town to see this stuff, to guess what will win the grand prize this year. Last year, I got it right with Elephants, a stunning pencil-drawing by Adonna Khare. The surreal piece was something to behold, especially since the artist was working on it in real time, in front of the swarms that had piled into the Grand Rapids Art Museum on whatever day of the week it was.

…You know what's funny? I think I've just convinced myself of the value of ArtPrize. So what if our streets are full? Isn't that the way they're supposed to be, instead of having gas-guzzling monsters belching on the streets? So what if it's hard to get into a restaurant that you love? Don't you want people to love the food that you already have had the pleasure (time and time again) of indulging in? The event brings people, from here and from around the world, into areas of the city that are rarely used. Isn't that something to be proud of, to marvel at? ArtPrize may be about art, first and foremost, but I think it's also--perhaps accidentally--about putting Grand Rapids on the map. I mean, Time mentioned something that happens in our city as an occasion that people all over the world should attend--what? If nothing else, we should be impressed with ourselves.