2018 Outlook: Jason Lummen, The Peoples Cider Co. LLC

2018 Outlook: Jason Lummen, The Peoples Cider Co. LLC
Jason Lummen, Owner of The Peoples Cider Co. LLC

While 480 square feet of space may not seem huge for a taproom, it offers The Peoples Cider Co. needed visibility along the burgeoning West Leonard Street corridor in Grand Rapids. Owner Jason Lummen opened his new taproom in late October on a strip with a distillery and a brewery, which he hopes will create new synergies. The proximity to the other producers has increased the company’s exposure, as well as freed space at his production facility on Maryland Avenue in the Oak Industrial Park. Lummen’s operation currently produces about 200 barrels per year and he hopes that separating his taproom from his production operation offers room for growth. He describes business at the new facility in one word:

“Steady. Slow and steady wins the race, so I think that’s the best thing. It’s meeting its marks that it needs to make. We’re not in a position where we can lose money for a period of time. Every week, it makes what it needs to make to keep the lights on and keep everyone paid. For a skin-of-the-teeth operation, I’m pretty lucky and I feel like there’s good room to grow. … There’s still a lot of people that have been walking in the door that have never heard of us, and I’ve been plugging away at this for five years now. That visibility, that location, becomes so important. … It’s what we needed. I’ve been saying to people: ‘This bar is everything I needed and nothing I don’t.’ It gets me that visibility and gets me in with great neighbors at Mitten Brewing and Long Road Distillers. I’m excited to be here and want to be here long term. There’s a lot of people doing booze in town. I can’t think of a better place in town for me.” 


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