CLOSING TIME AT ROAK BREWING CO.
Moving west, CEO seeks another brewing company to buy facility
After operating in Royal Oak for five years, Roak Brewing Co. is selling its large warehouse facility and taproom.
Roak is consolidating its operations at the Dark Horse Brewing Co. in Marshall, near Battle Creek, which it bought out last year.
Roak’s CEO John Leone talked to Royal Oak Mayor Michael Fournier about the move recently.
“They had to make a difficult decision,” Fournier said. “That’s understandable in the business climate we’re in and the pressure the COVID-19 pandemic is bringing to the marketplace.”
Leone is looking for another brewing company in the area to buy Roak’s roughly 13,000 square-foot facility.
“We heard some rumors that ( Roak) was consolidating,” said Todd Fenton, Royal Oak’s economic development manager. “It’s a loss to see a great brewing company that opened in Royal Oak not long now (moving away). They have been a great neighbor in the city and civically engaged.”
Commercial property values are in flux right now, though Fenton said he has seen no decline in values locally at this point.
“It would surprise me if that space stayed vacant for long,” he added. “If you’re looking to open a brewery it’s a turnkey” property.
Leone did not return calls from the Tribune seeking comment on Roak’s consolidation move.
“It’s my understanding that Roak is still looking at opening a taproom/restaurant in Royal Oak” sometime in the future, Fenton said.
Roak’s beer was distributed to many local restaurants in Royal Oak and its taproom was popular with many residents who could walk to the location at 330 E. Lincoln, a couple blocks east of Main Street, and enjoy craft beers and order pizzas and salads.
“Royal Oak is an excellent market and we have a strong tradition of local brewers here,” Fournier said. “I’m confident that (Leone) will find somebody to come in and operate a brewery with a tasting room.”
State Rep. Jim Ellison ( D-Royal Oak) was still mayor when Leone first applied for a zoning change in 2014 to have a taproom for the public at Roak. It opened in June 2015.
There was pushback from some nearby residential neighbors, but the City Commission approved the move to allow a taproom for people to enjoy craft beers and casual food at the Roak facility.
“It was the first time we had done something like that and they fulfilled their promises to the neighborhood,” said Ellison, who was among neighbors who liked having a brewery and craft beers on tap close to home. “It was our neighborhood place to go.”
One of the reasons Roak was successful until the recent pandemic is that Leone and his partners had a sense of community, Ellison added.
“They were involved in the community and fundraisers,” he said. “Those are the kind of people we like to keep in Royal Oak. I wish John (Leone) the best of luck and hope there is a future Roak presence in Royal Oak.”