Displaying items tagged: Long Road Distillers LLC

As a sober resident in a city widely recognized for its craft beer scene, Paul Clark struggled to find non-alcoholic options outside of soda, coffee or sparkling water. 

CADILLAC — Long Road Distillers LLC is shutting down its Cadillac tasting room after a year in business because of staffing challenges.

Small distilleries and grain farmers in Michigan are poised to benefit from a new state law that incentivizes the use of Michigan-grown grains when producing liquor.

Here is a snapshot of company activity from our February 14, 2022 print edition.

GRAND RAPIDS — Long Road Distillers LLC plans to bring a tasting room called Less Traveled to Grand Rapids’ East Hills neighborhood.

Still facing market pains ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan small craft distillers continue to lobby for looser state liquor control laws to help their businesses be more nimble and profitable.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Grand Rapids Planning Commission approved a special land use request Thursday for a developer’s plan to construct a three-story, mixed-use building that will include a new expanded location for The Peoples Cider Co. 

KENTWOOD — Jason Spaulding recalled in the spring of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the bar and restaurant industry and left him sitting on 400 kegs of dead beer.

Here's the MiBiz Growth Report for May 24, 2021.

GRAND RAPIDS — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed legislation that eases restrictions on the self distribution of spirits while also giving local distillers an easier path to bring canned cocktails to market.

About a year ago, Jon O’Connor and his team at Long Road Distillers LLC explored potential locations in Cadillac but were not able to find the right fit.

Legislation designed to put Michigan’s distillers on a more even footing with cider, beer and wine producers died on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk this week.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the supply of hand sanitizer dried up, nearly every member organization of the Michigan Craft Distillers Association rolled up their sleeves to pivot from producing spirits to making hand sanitizer.

A coalition of bars and restaurants started in Grand Rapids is “trying to build some solidarity” within the industry around managing facilities responsibly during the pandemic, following recent COVID-19 spikes linked to bars that led Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to close many of them for indoor service.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Kent County Health Department has ordered a downtown Grand Rapids bar to close after video surfaced this weekend of large crowds of patrons not adhering to social distancing and other measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.

GRAND RAPIDS — Jonathan Jelks — a Grand Rapids entrepreneur behind a variety of startups in fashion, tech and hospitality — is seeing the full spectrum of economic changes brought on by the coronavirus.

Michigan distilleries that switched to hand sanitizer production are keeping the lights on, but they face a tough road ahead with on-premise sales at bars and restaurants at a standstill for the foreseeable future. 

Demand for the mobile computer workstations produced by Walker-based health care furniture manufacturer Altus Industries Inc. had already begun to spike as hospitals started setting up quarantine and triage areas in preparation for an influx of COVID-19 patients. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Long Road Distillers LLC has laid off 50 employees — almost its entire workforce — following a state order limiting bars and restaurants to take-out and delivery business.

GRAND RAPIDS — Restaurants and breweries across West Michigan are taking precautions to protect employees and patrons from coronavirus. 

Order delays and technology glitches for one of the authorized liquor distributors in Michigan have craft distilleries calling for changes to the state’s Prohibition-era distribution system. 

Grand Rapids-based Long Road Distillers LLC hopes to open a new satellite tasting room on the lakeshore.

MUSKEGON — A lakeshore fabrication shop hopes to capitalize on explosive growth in the U.S. craft distilling industry by offering custom Michigan-made stills and other equipment. NexGen Mechanical Solutions LLC founder Scott Whitaker, a pipefitter by trade, over the last 13 years developed a niche in serving the region’s distilleries, including New Holland Artisan Spirits in Holland and Muskegon-based 18th Amendment Spirits Co.

A series of bipartisan bills fast-tracked for the state Legislature’s lame-duck session would redefine the laws governing how Michigan-based alcoholic beverage producers operate. 

Vander Heide, the current president of the Michigan Cider Association, said the cider industry fought hard to be included specifically in the new law’s language outlining the council’s governing board.

An update to Michigan law is bringing a more equitable approach to how license fees from craft beverage producers are spent. 

Vander Mill LLC and Long Road Distillers LLC have struck a partnership to further capitalize on the growing market for craft spirits.

From craft distilling to artisan food to retailing to niche publishing firms, West Michigan’s small business executives are genuinely upbeat as they look to 2017. 

When Bill Welter was searching for a location to start a distillery in 2010, he chose a site in Three Oaks, Mich. over his home state of Indiana.

As the craft beverage industry matures, it’s attracted new entrants who may be more concerned with making a quick profit than with the quality of the liquid. 

GRAND RAPIDS — With development transforming the west side of Grand Rapids, organizations across the city are working together to combat the displacement of existing residents and protect affordable housing.