Batch Brewing Co. Parties On Even During Brutal Times #DetroitFood

Antonio “Shades” Agee painting a mural at Batch Brewing before its 2015 opening | Batch Brewing Company

The Corktown brewery owner laments restaurant closures and rising costs as Batch turns 10 years old

Batch Brewing Co. is celebrating an increasingly rare milestone in the craft beer world: 10 years in business. It’s especially poignant as the industry experiences turmoil with breweries across the country struggling.

Last month, Batch owner Stephen Roginson took to social media to help shed light on some of the current challenges faced by the service industry.

“We’re coming up on our 10-year anniversary, and instead of reflecting on all that fun and beer, I can’t look past the ever-increasing challenges and obstacles the service industry is facing,” reads part of the caption.

Weeks later, he posted another video, this time pointing out to customers why they may see increased prices or fees the next time they go out to eat.

“A milestone like 10 years should be a joyous occasion, a cause for celebration, but it is absolutely within the context of this new state of existing in the service industry,” Roginson tells Eater. “We’re still very much all recovering from the financial reality of the pandemic.”

To recognize 10 years, Batch will celebrate for 10 days. They’re hosting a ticketed Valentine’s Day pop-up dinner on Friday with Carlos Parisi of Aunt Nee’s and Batch executive chef, Brendon Edwards. A Saturday, February 15 birthday bash will feature the sounds of Motor City Soul Club, while customers can enjoy barbecue specialties like brisket, crispy skin pulled pork, spare ribs, and sides like espagueti verde and collard greens. They’ll also get a first taste of the brewery’s newest creation — a Bourbon barrel-aged double mash imperial stout flavored with vanilla and cacao — called Lush II. The festivities conclude on Sunday, February 16 with a brunch pop-up from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. by chef Hailey Enszer.

It’s just the type of scene one would expect from the stalwart brewery, which first flung open its doors in Corktown in February 2015 and went on to become known as an essential community space, particularly during the throes of the pandemic. Aside from the merriment, Roginson wants the public to know that the service industry is still very much in crisis.

The price of beef brisket cost about $3 a pound before the pandemic but has since increased by 60 percent and is now $5 a pound. Later this month, minimum wage and tipped-waged workers in Michigan are set to receive pay increases, following a 2024 Michigan Supreme Court ruling. And now with the threat of Canadian tariffs looming, Roginson is worried about the cost of raw materials like aluminum sheet, which the brewery sources from Canada to use for its beer cans — a reality that could help to raise the price that the customer pays for a cold one by 30 percent.

With economic and political pressures hitting the industry on all sides, Roginson wants his customer base to be aware and do their part to support local restaurants.

“We’re just trying to navigate the moment with conscientiousness, and enthusiasm, and optimism, and also to try and find a way to be transparent,” Roginson says. “We’re 10 years into this, and if we’re going to do it for another 10 years, we need our guests to know that we really care, that we understand that price increases are painful for everyone, but they’re just as painful for us as they are for them.”

Batch Brewing opened in 2015 with the help of a $50,000 award by the Comerica Bank’s Hatch Detroit contest. The space previously housed the Porter Street Station Bar and Grill. Within its first months in service, Batch started off by serving a limited menu of typical bar food like Bavarian pretzels but quickly improved upon its offerings. In 2023, they unveiled a Saturday side hustle, Yellow Dog Craft BBQ.

The launch of the barbecue operations is the type of pivot restaurants became familiar with during the pandemic. In 2020, as restaurants were forced to close their dining rooms, endure extended shutdowns, and implement social distancing mandates, Roginson converted a parking lot into a sprawling pavilion and installed a walk-up window so customers could enjoy beers and food outside. The outdoor space, a temporary fix during unprecedented times, has gone on to be used for special events throughout the year. Batch also became a destination for other local chefs who may have been without access to a commercial kitchen at the time, while displaced restaurant workers in need of a meal were invited to “pay what you could” for a hot plate of barbecue.

Roginson says that he’s not sure precisely how the minimum wage increase will impact prices, but points out that his priority is ensuring that his employees have jobs. From a consumer standpoint, Roginson is sensitive that customers are spending less. But he’s banking that while customers are being more selective, they’ll elect to spend their money at independent venues like Batch that provide much-needed community spaces.

“It’s been a bit of a conundrum to find a way to do it that does not require an apology. We don’t want to charge somebody $25 for a cheeseburger. We don’t want to charge $25 for a Cubano. This is grassroots food. It’s salt of the earth food — aside from the fact that we make it so thoughtfully, we have all these steps involved, and labor — it’s still honest food that belongs with a beer.”

from Eater Detroit - All