FERNDALE, Michigan – Ferndale Project, the experimental sister brewery of Eastern Market Brewing Co, set their Grand Opening for Saturday, March 12th, 2022. They’ll be open from 8 am to Midnight that day, tapping a limited-release barrel-aged Peanut Butter Volcano Stout at Noon and serving ASHE Coffee until 3 pm.
Founded in 2020, just weeks before the onset of COVID-19, Ferndale Project became a pandemic darling for its many pivots to not only survive but grow over the past two years. In a matter of days, the space transformed from a public-facing taproom into a business incubator. There they launched Peddler, their beer delivery service, Dooped, a vegan donut brand, and most recently, they acquired ASHE Coffee.
“I keep telling the team, this is a Grand Opening and not a Grand Re-Opening. In many ways, Saturday is a fresh start for us, and our employees. It also feels like it’s signaling an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last two years, we were put to the test and this Saturday is as much a celebration of our opening, as it is of our survival,“ said Dayne Bartscht, Managing Partner of Eastern Market Brewing Co.
Ferndale Project opened to significant fanfare and quickly became known for their New England-style IPAs, which are amongst the highest rated in the state. When restrictions banned in-person drinking and dining, the brewery invested in a new canning line and with it, shifted focus to can releases and label art. Danny Jacobs joined the team as their Creative Director and oversaw a refresh of the Ferndale brand.
Jacobs said, “Our vision was to create a distinct and art-forward space for the guests of Ferndale Project. We wanted a taproom experience that reflects the uniqueness of the community it serves. So we partnered with local Ferndale architecture firm 5/8ths to create a bold, contemporary interior design and paired that with our vision of a loud and fun aesthetic. Some of the more playful design elements have started to reveal themselves through our label design and will continue to come to life in signage and mural art within the taproom, many of which are currently in the ideation phase and still to come.”
In addition to a remodeled taproom, the space features a dedicated ASHE Coffee cafe with a walk-up window and an extended outdoor patio. The interior boasts an espresso bar with nitro cold brew on tap and floor-to-ceiling blue colors. At the opposite end of the building, Ferndale Project’s bodega has reach-in coolers with the latest Ferndale Project and Eastern Market Brewing Co. cans and merchandise.
“All Ferndale Project has known is the pandemic. 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,” said Bartscht. “There is one constant though, and that’s the Ferndale community. No matter what was thrown at us, it has always felt like our community was unwilling to let us fail. We’ll always be grateful.”
For More Information:
https://www.ferndaleproject.com/