During a special edition of So You Want to Run a Restaurant, Claudia Saric and Spencer Michiel came to us live from the Gordon Food Service Food Show in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Our hosts were joined by Chris Andrus, the co-founder of Mitten Brewing Co. and a passionate local philanthropist.
Chris launched Mitten Brewing Co. alongside his childhood friend Max in 2012, out of a vacant Victorian firehouse in a Grand Rapids neighborhood of furniture factories. Together, they transformed Engine House No. 9 into a fun baseball-themed microbrewery. They opened to long lines and tons of local excitement.
Mitten Brewing now operates out of three separate West Michigan locations. It also hosts local events and runs its own charitable foundation. Chris credits this growth to an important guiding philosophy – Eat pizza, drink beer and do good. Mitten is perhaps as well known in the local community for its tireless charitable efforts as it is for its meticulously crafted beers and gourmet pizza.
But the real story begins, as so many do, with a struggling rock band.
The Last Tour
“I'm one of those late-bloomer entrepreneurs,” said Chris. “I never brewed a beer until I was 30 years old.”
For eight years, Chris was a touring musician – a guitarist and songwriter for a working-class midwestern rock band that couldn’t always afford the luxury of a hotel room.
“A lot of times we just slept in the van,” he recalled. But on one specific night, after a show at a bar in Steubenville, Ohio, the owners were gracious enough to let the band crash in the venue. The only problem was, there were four bandmates and only three couches.
“I lost out on the rock paper scissors,” said Chris. “So I slept on the pool table in the bar, and I was staring at the ceiling, thinking, it's time I do something else.”
Brewing Up Something New
Chris was 30 years old when he returned home from tour vowing to explore something new. His friend Max worked in marketing but was also looking for a change. Max had just purchased a homebrew kit on a whim. The old friends began experimenting together, and with that, the newly-minted business partners were off and running.
They found early success by entering their new brews into local competitions. In just two years, they were generating enough buzz that they decided to launch Mitten Brewing Co. They were determined to open the first brewing operation on the west side of Grand Rapids since Prohibition.
As excited as they were about the idea, the major lenders were less enthusiastic.
“It was about a year-and-a-half after the Great Recession and the housing collapse, so we didn't know how to afford to do this thing that we were talking about doing,” recalled Chris. “We went to the bank and found out right away that they were not gonna lend us any money.”
Five Big Takeaways From Our Chat With Chris Andrus
So how did Chris and Max go from rejected loan applications to thriving local staple? For the whole story, including the part about the creepy paranormal presence haunting Engine House No. 9, you’ll definitely want to check out the whole episode. You can also read on for some of our favorite moments.
1. Most Things Take Longer Than You Think They Will
Without a bank loan, Chris and Max launched a successful fundraising campaign. And because resources were limited, they did all of their own construction work. As Chris told us, “We worked in that building 16 hours a day, without a paycheck – long, long, dirty days while fundraising the whole time. We'd be down there hammering and giving an investor presentation covered in soot and dirt.”
The process was rewarding, but Chris recalled all kinds of unexpected hurdles along the way. They ran into delays with the local government. They found that they needed to raise more capital than originally thought. They even had to sell some equity in their new business. Altogether, these things resulted in constant delays on the way to launching the baseball-themed bar.
“We were hoping to open for opening day in April that year,” said Chris. “We ended up opening for the World Series.” On the bright side, when they did open up, they had a line around the block.
2. Invest in Something Bigger Than Your Business
“I learned that an interesting way to make money is to give it away. And it kind of unlocked this reciprocal understanding of what philanthropy connects you to in terms of fundraising,” observed Chris. This was an entirely unexpected byproduct of the charitable work Mitten Brewing had invested in even from its earliest stages.
“We partnered with different nonprofits when we opened up, even though we didn't have any money to give away,” said Chris. “We wanted this giving mission to help us stand out in the eyes of our customers. So we really dove into it, even though it did not make a lot of financial sense for a long time.”
“Every time we'd write a check to a nonprofit, we’d think, boy, all the bills that that could pay,” said Chris, “But truly believing in something requires you to take that leap.”
3. You Get What You Give
Once Mitten Brewing had taken that leap into philanthropy, it became a key pillar of the business. Mitten has worked closely with non-profit community groups to support individuals with disabilities, address food insecurity, and more. And since launching its own Mitten Foundation, Inc. in 2017, the craft brewing company has given more than $500,000 to local community causes.
Chris and Max made philanthropy a central part of their mission because they believed deeply in giving back to the community. What they didn’t anticipate was how it would benefit the business.
“Our giving mission was probably the main thing that allowed us to thrive through the pandemic,” said Chris. Remarkably, Mitten’s 2020 pizza sales were nearly identical to its 2019 sales, in spite of the COVID-19 crisis. When Chris surveyed his guests to find out why, “Sixty-two percent said that the reason they went out of their way to give us their support during this time was because of everything we had done in the community.”
4. Build a Team You Can Trust
From brewing to renovations to fundraising, Chris and Max more or less launched a successful business with their bare hands. But eventually, growing a business requires the help of a whole team. This, however, was something Chris would have to learn through experience.
“First, you drive yourself crazy and physically burn yourself out, so much so that you can hardly function,” said Chris. “Then you come to understand that you can't be everywhere.”
Creating a successful business means recruiting, training, and fostering a culture in which others can carry out your vision. “It really comes down to getting the right people, putting the aces in their places, getting the right people in the management positions and allowing them to execute,” Chris observed, “And ultimately, it comes down to trust.”
5. Stay True to Your Identity
Chris and Max may have purchased their first craft brewing kit on a whim all those years ago. But today, they have total clarity about who they are and what their restaurant is all about. This comes through in the way they approach brewing.
“We've got some trendier styles,” said Chris, “but they always harken back to a really balanced version…I've always been attracted to balance and classic styles.”
There’s a good reason for this. The craft brewing business is booming these days. In a highly competitive atmosphere, “You've got to earn customers and keep customers,” Chris observed. “And brand strength and consistency are the only things that matter, because if you're chasing trends, you're going to get outpaced.”
Serving Spirits and the Community
We did promise you a ghost story. Lucky for you, Engine House No. 9 is most definitely haunted. Chris remembers the early days, when he and Max were there building at all hours of the night. Sometimes, they would work by flashlight.
“We would see things moving out of the corner of our eye.” Chris told us. “And I'd say to Max, ‘Do you see that?’ You’d hear footsteps. This started happening more. Then we started to hear voices speaking. A few times we heard our names shouted, and we knew for a fact we were the only ones there.”
Scary stuff.
But you know what’s not scary? Adapting new restaurant technology. In fact, it can be really fun and exciting with the right help. Reach out today and schedule a free, personalized consultation with one of our in-house restaurant tech experts to learn more.
